WHY ROBYN SAID YES TO THE (WEDDING) DRESS

‘I love, love, love creating,’ says top Cape Town bridal designer Robyn Roberts, whose business has survived load shedding, a pandemic and a bridezilla or two 😉  | Photo: Nicky Elliott

The eldest of three children of a teacher and a priest, Robyn (58) grew up moving around the Western Cape. She attended Rustenburg Girls’ High School, then Cape Technikon where she studied fashion design. She lives in Mowbray with husband Paul, and they have two adult children

MY MOM TAUGHT ME AND MY SISTER TO SEW, and it unleashed a huge burst of creativity in me. All through high school, I went to town at weekends to scour fabric and bead shops. I loved sitting alone, creating a garment. Even after I met Paul at 16, he had to think up really good dates to lure me away from my sewing machine!

‘Running a small business in South Africa has required courage,’ says Robyn | Photo: Nicky Elliott

After studying fashion for three years, I worked in various factories producing clothing for South African retailers. The work was stable but creatively unfulfilling. I realised I’d rather take on the risks of my own bespoke business than be unstimulated. As a dedicated fashionista, I never thought I’d end up in the world of wedding dresses, but when I became a bride myself everything changed. I loved the romance, the endless scope and the feminine beauty of bridal gowns.

Robyn on her wedding day in a dress she made herself

I opened my studio in 1995 when I was 28, shortly after marrying Paul. I was never scared of working hard into the night, which I still do, and I love, love, love sitting creating. But running a small business in South Africa has required courage. In the early days, it meant living frugally after paying my seamstress and fabric suppliers and trusting a client would be happy with what I’d made for her. My heart would pound when the doorbell rang.

I felt like a complete failure

Meeting customer and staff expectations is probably the most stressful part of my work. Staff can have their own personal challenges and brides often struggle to visualise an end result. Once, a client asked me to pass the scissors and cut up her dress in front of me! I felt like a complete failure.

A warm South African welcome awaits at Robyn’s studio, located in a Victorian house in Cape Town’s Mowbray | Photo: Nicky Elliott

For the first ten years, I worked only with my sketches, learning to listen well to my customers and improvise out of that. Today, I have a room full of beautiful dresses in various tones and sizes, with every neckline, sleeve and skirt shape, for a bride to try on. Seeing herself in a dress minimises the risk factor for a bride.

‘As a creative, I wouldn’t want to be doing the same thing every day. The challenge gives me joy because it’s so different to the day before,’ says Robyn. Floating here in her own joy is Sarah Walelin, wearing one of 8 000 wedding outfits Robyn has made | Photo: Zandri and Kevin du Preez Photography

Paul is a rare husband: a man with a relentless belief in my abilities who’s willing to collaborate with his wife! He joined the business as my partner after ten years, handling administration, finances and staff, and we grew it together. He’d always wanted to run a coffee shop and, after Covid, he opened one on-site. Laced Coffee House is open to the public as well as being a great place for bridal parties.

‘Paul is a rare husband, who has a relentless belief in my abilities,’ says Robyn | Photo: Nicky Elliott

Paul launched a coffee shop at the studio which hosts bridal events as well as serving the public

Even with Paul’s help it’s been a very demanding business and, as a mom, it wasn’t always easy to find time for my children. When our daughter Emily was little, she’d dress up like a client with heels and a handbag, and come to the waiting area to get my attention. Leaning on God and His grace has been the only way forward for me. I consider myself very fortunate to have grown up with a father in full-time ministry, which meant I was encouraged to have a prayer life and conversations about God. That faith became an anchor long before I understood how much I’d rely on Him.

Sometimes God shows up in unexpected ways. I’ll be quietly panicking because a bride may be expecting to take her dress that day, and then I feel the Lord gently rearranging things: before I even say anything, she’ll suggest coming back tomorrow. Over the years, at just the right time, skilled team members have joined us and strengthened the business in ways I could never have imagined, with wisdom, expertise and sewing tricks that help us all. God shows up in navigating me to the right fabric sources too.

Robyn and the team, all of whom have strengthened the business in ways she never imagined | Photo: Nicky Elliott

I see this as God’s grace at work. Even in struggles, there are always answers. I have come to believe that this business belongs to Him, and that He called me to serve brides with care and personal attention. I remind myself of that often. Sometimes I pray before consultations. That I’ll say the right words, bring out the right dresses at the right price, have the strength to keep going, and that each client will leave feeling seen and cared for, and that the experience will have been heart-warming and successful.

Layla Kolbe in a Robyn Roberts design on the day she married Springbok Cheslin

Every winter, when deadlines slow down, I can start to worry. But it helps me to look back, to remember that the Cape wedding industry is seasonal, and how much the team and I need a rest from customers. The phone doesn’t ring as much, but there’s creativity. This is when we create new dresses, revamp and upcycle dresses, and rethink our showroom and marketing strategies.

We’ve had a number of challenges, such as load shedding when we were forced to do fittings by torchlight and sew by hand. And there were so many weddings cancelled during the pandemic that we had to retrench most of our team. Financial and emotional recovery has been tough and slow. If we didn’t trust God, we’d want to give up. But we’ve got something good going, and on we go! ♦

‘Even in struggles, there are answers,’ says Robyn. ‘If you don’t panic, hold on, breathe and ask God’s intervention, it happens’  | Photo: Nicky Elliott