A dress rarely begins with a finished idea. More often it starts with a question.

What should this piece feel like when you put it on? Where will it be worn? How should it move with the body? At Lalamour, building a dress is not a linear process.. it is a sequence of decisions, adjustments and refinements that take place long before a garment ever reaches production.

From idea to sketch

Every design starts with a concept rather than a trend. Inspiration can come from colour, a fabric development, a silhouette we want to refine, or a shape we know works particularly well on the body. Sketches are used as a tool to explore proportion and balance, not as a fixed blueprint. Many designs change significantly after the first drawing.

Fabric comes before detail

Before buttons, prints or finishing are considered, fabric choice takes centre stage. The weight, structure and drape of a fabric determine how a dress will behave in real life. A silhouette that works beautifully in a woven fabric may fail completely in jersey, and vice versa. That is why fabric testing happens early sometimes even before the final design is set.

Rather than choosing from existing stock fabrics, many of Lalamour’s materials are developed specifically for the collection. This allows for better control over quality and consistency, but it also means more testing, sampling and adjustment along the way.

The first sample

Once fabric and design direction align the first prototype is created. This sample is not meant to be perfect. It exists to answer practical questions: How does the dress sit on the shoulders? Does the waist placement feel natural? Does the fabric behave as expected when moving?

At this stage, proportions are often adjusted. Lengths change, sleeves are reshaped, necklines refined. Sometimes a design moves forward quickly. Other times, it goes back to the drawing board entirely.

Fit is refined, not assumed

Fit development is one of the most time-consuming parts of building a dress. A size label alone says very little about how a garment feels on the body. Small adjustments a few millimetres here a slightly different seam placement there can make the difference between a dress that looks good and one that feels right.

Multiple fitting rounds are common. Each version improves on the last, informed by wear tests and real feedback rather than assumptions. The goal is not perfection on paper, but comfort and confidence in wear.

Construction matters

A dress is more than its shape. Construction determines durability, movement and longevity. Seam finishes, reinforcement points and stitching techniques are reviewed carefully. These details may never be noticed consciously by the wearer, but they shape how a garment holds up over time.

This stage often involves close collaboration with our production partner, Orimpex, where technical expertise plays a key role in translating design into something that works in production without losing its original intention.

Final decisions

Only after fabric, fit and construction align does a dress move into production planning. Even then, adjustments may still be made. A pocket depth might change. A lining may be added or removed. Nothing is final until it proves itself in practice.

Building a dress takes time. It requires patience, collaboration and a willingness to revise decisions along the way. But that process matters. A dress that is thoughtfully built is one that is worn more often, kept longer and becomes part of someone’s everyday life.

At Lalamour, we believe good design is not about how quickly something is made  but about how carefully it is built.