At the age of eight, Francesca Marlop already knew how to sew on a machine. “I sewed and sewed. I loved sewing. I was obsessed with making dresses for my dolls. She even organized fashion shows in the hallway at home,” explains the designer. Following her passion, she trained in fashion, encompassing pattern making, tailoring, tailoring, tailoring and corsetry. She specialized in creating haute couture models and, at the age of 28, she founded her own fashion school: Girona Moda.
However, not all dreams have a happy ending. “The school closed, and I was so depressed that I left fashion design to work in an electrical automation company,” acknowledges the protagonist. It was not until 2004 when Marlop returned to her old ways to found her current brand of wedding and guest dresses, Francesca Marlop. At the beginning she also sold third-party dresses, but now all the models are designs by the entrepreneur.
Before the pandemic, Francesca Marlop had a store in Girona, but the restrictions on holding events were a severe setback, and the owner was forced to settle in Sant Gregori, in the Gironès region, where she still remains. The workshop from which she makes her dresses is located next to the store. Two people work there, and the materials used are purchased from national suppliers, especially from the province of Barcelona. The result is wedding dresses with a price range that goes from less than 1,000 euros to 3,000 euros.
Francesca Marlop dresses can be purchased directly at the firm’s store in Sant Gregori or at a wedding dress store in Barcelona, ??a city where it also has various showrooms. The clients are women residing in Catalonia, especially in the Girona area, or Catalans who live abroad, but opt ??for a brand from their country of origin for such a special occasion. After a year, the designer estimates that she can sell about 50 wedding dresses and many more guest dresses. The brand’s turnover is around 100,000 euros.
