Feminine silhouettes, beautiful silks and delicate ruffles embody Hai, a London-based label that counts several A-listers as fans, and is now heading into bridal with its first wedding dress collection.

Founded in 2018 by Tessa Vermeulen, Hai first hit the scene with its 'Bamboo' bag. Since then, the brand has gone from strength to strength, expanding into clothing and more accessories, landing a spot on the London Fashion Week schedule and opening its very first store in Seoul.

Now, the label is dipping its toe into the bridal world for the very first time. And, as you might expect, the collection is full of that dreamy aesthetic for which Hai has become so well known. Vermeulen has a penchant for lace, pearls, velvets and silk.

"I think it's really important for brides to maintain their sense of self, which is why we've tried to offer pieces that are really special, but can be dressed up in different ways," says Vermeulen, who wore the bridal collection on her own wedding day. "It's so easy for brides to get caught up in the extravagance of it all and to let the idea of the 'traditional dress' take over."

Hai’s founder Tessa Vermeulen

As well as offering something unique, Vermeulen wanted to make sure that these were pieces that could be worn and loved far beyond the big day.

"What you wear for your wedding is so special, but it also seems a shame that you’d never get a chance to wear it again," she says. "We’ve tried to keep this in mind when creating this collection and I'd like to think we've pulled it off."

The collection is filled with timeless dresses, elegant coordinating sets and perfect accessories that will surely be beloved by brides. Below, discover everything you need to know about the brand and the new bridal collection.

What's the story behind Hai?

"Designing clothes was something I'd always wanted to do. The end goal was always to start my own label, but I had a rather unorthodox start to the fashion business. I moved with my family to Shanghai as a teenager and although my intention was always to study fashion design at university, the only course taught in English was a business degree. While I was in Shanghai, I started working in the music industry and then moved to London in my twenties, completing a Masters of Business in Music and continued working in music until Hai really started to take off.

"The idea for Hai itself really came about when I was around 25, it took me a couple of years to really get those ideas off the ground. Our website officially launched in 2018 selling our first bag, the 'Bamboo'. Since then, the company has grown organically, starting with a few exclusive colourways for big stores like Liberty and Luisaviaroma, to opening our first store in Seoul; and then expanding our product range from bags to a full collection of clothing, shoes, jewellery, which had been something I'd hoped to do eventually."

What was your inspiration behind the bridal collection?

"When I started Hai and we were making only bags and small accessories, people started to buy them as a part of their wedding outfits. Our 'Little Silk' bags are really perfect for brides and I'm always so excited to see brides choose Hai to be part of such a big day. Then, when we started making clothes, we noticed a similar pattern; so many customers were buying our porcelain dupion pieces to wear as part of their wedding day, and this has gone on season after season. It's such a big compliment.

"We'd always planned to expand into bridalwear, as it feels like such a natural progression for the brand, and while I was designing the dress for my own wedding, I really felt like this was the right time to finally do it. We've been in full wedding mode at the studio, so it brought a lot of excitement and also a sense of clarity to the design process, asking myself if I would wear this? A lot of the dresses in the collection are based on my own wedding dresses, as when we were designing I kept falling in love with each one, which got quite dangerous. There's a limit to how many times one can change at a wedding!"

Part of Hai’s success is down to strong brand identity, how can brides keep their own unique style?

"I think it's really important for brides to maintain their sense of self, which is why we've tried to offer pieces that are really special but can be dressed up in different ways. With weddings, it's so easy for brides to get caught up in the extravagance of it all and to let the idea of the 'traditional' dress take over. This, of course, works for some people, but it's important to make sure you put your own stamp on what you wear, as well as the whole day in general. A way to do that can even be through accessories; it's always interesting to see how people style our pieces in their own way, even within our team, all of us could be wearing the same piece but look totally different."

Do you think brides are becoming more experimental?

"Definitely. The fact that there is so much choice for brides these days, really allows each one to have the chance to be who she wants and have her own personal style reflected. It's no longer necessary to follow traditions, and having so much inspiration out there from places like Instagram, there's more reason to stand out."

Lena dress

Flora jacket

Leonard trousers

Celeste dress

How does sustainability apply to bridalwear?

"There are definitely elements of bridalwear that you can keep wearing again and again. Of course, the most obvious things are shoes and bags, but with bridal dressing becoming modern, there are definitely ways to re-wear certain dresses and other pieces. Take our bridal suit; both pieces could be worn day-to-day afterwards, such as trousers with a T-shirt and trainers or our jacket with jeans and a jumper. Our sequin dress could be worn again over the party season. What you wear for your wedding is so special, but it also seems a shame that you’d never get a chance to wear it again. We’ve tried to keep this in mind when creating this collection and I'd like to think we've pulled it off."

Hai is loved for its accessories, will you be branching out into bridal pieces too?

"The beauty of our current accessories is that so many of them are perfect for brides, bridesmaids, and wedding guests, and this is something we see year after year. So many of our current pieces will form unofficial extensions of our bridal collection. For my civil wedding in April, I wore our 'Puff Gina' bag in light blue as my ‘something blue’; and the ivory iterations of most of our bags have been so popular with brides over the years.

"But that being said, we’d of course love to keep expanding our bridal collection, which we’ll likely keep doing seasonally with a new addition here or there. Once our first bridal pieces are out in the world I’m sure we’ll hear from our community what they’d like to see next."

What’s next for Hai?

"We're just about to shoot our spring/summer 2024 lookbook in Italy and I'm so excited about this collection. It's our biggest yet, where we're trying a lot of new techniques and fabrics which is always fun creatively. We'll have an event to present in London during fashion month, so that's our next big project. Also, we're beginning to work on next winter's collection already, so there's a lot of mood boarding and research currently going on in the studio right now. Other than that, hopefully, we'll open some more pop-up shops, and even perhaps a permanent store. I'd love to have a flagship in London, it's our home city and a big part of who we are as a brand."

Hai's bridal collection is available to shop now at homeofhai.com