Promoting inclusivity in bridal wear, Charlotte Mills launches 'The Aisle Edit'

BA (Hons) Cordwainers Footwear alumna Charlotte founded Charlotte Mills Ltd in 2014. The company, which specialises in luxury handcrafted bridal shoes, has seen steady growth since its launch, with a turnover of 1 million in the last year. We caught up with Charlotte to talk about the growth of her brand, her new flagship concept store, and the progress of inclusivity within the bridalwear market.

Hi Charlotte, great to talk to you. Firstly, congratulations on opening your concept store ‘The Aisle Edit' Can you tell us about your journey since graduating from LCF and founding your Company, Charlotte Mills Ltd?

After graduating from LCF in 2008, I worked as a footwear designer, starting as an intern and working through roles to design manager. I was lucky enough to travel worldwide to places like China, New York, and Europe. I eventually launched Charlotte Mills Ltd in 2014.

What inspired you to launch your bridal footwear business?

The concept for Charlotte Mills Bridal was conceived when I designed a bridal footwear collection for my final degree show. I realised a true passion and a huge gap in the market. After graduating from Cordwainers the dream to launch my own luxury footwear brand fast became a reality in 2014 with the launch of my very first collection.

Why is inclusivity in bridalwear so important to you?

Inclusivity in bridalwear is not discussed often enough. Planning a wedding is an exciting and wonderful time but it can also be quite stressful and upsetting if some brides are not catered for. Over the years, we have added to our range, after speaking to our brides and understanding how we can work harder to ensure that no bride feels left out.

Absolutely, it’s so good to hear that you are advocating for this. Do you think the lack of size variety has improved?

The bridal industry operates in such a way that bridal boutiques only buy one or two samples of a dress, which prevents them from being size inclusive. This is usually due to budget and long lead times

Inclusivity in bridal wear is so important. It is really disheartening for brides when they fall in love with a dress online and cannot try it on in-store.

We wide-fit bridal shoes in 2018 to make our range more inclusive. This is something that not all bridal footwear brands offer and that now accounts for 40% of our total sales. We also specialise in comfortable block heels, that we offer in multiple heel heights, high, mid, and low. We are also currently working on an extra-wide fit style, after feedback from our brides.

What support did you receive from LCF to help you achieve your enterprise ambitions?

The way the degree was structured we learned how to make shoes and how to start a business and research and develop our ideas. The technical knowledge proved to be invaluable too.

I feel my degree really started my passion for bridal footwear and made me realise this could be a viable business one day.

What are your plans for the business?

We are growing the company in the USA and expanding our product offering. We have recently added apparel, sneakers, and jewellery to our collection which has been so well received. This is something we want to expand on. As mentioned, we've also just launched The Aisle Edit. A bridal concept store, housed in a converted 1860's church in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester. This is where our Charlotte Mills head office and warehouse are located, along with offering from other female-founded bridal brands, bridesmaids, bridal dresses, mother of the bride, accessories, and of course all Charlotte Mills products.

That sounds super exciting! Finally, what advice would you give to students wanting to set up their own brands? 

I would say to work in the industry and get experience on how to start a business for a good few years before starting on your own. You learn so much, and this knowledge is invaluable.

Great advice - thanks for your time, Charlotte. We wish you all the best with the business and with your new venture ‘The Aisle Edit’

• Find out more about BA (Hons) Cordwainers Footwear
• Connect with Graduate Futures
• What’s on at LCF: open days and events
• More LCF Stories