Gio Bespoke turning heads with beautifully crafted handmade dresses
Your child may never get to be a princess – but at this new luxury children’s wear store, they’re bound to find the next best thing. The decadent handmade masterpieces are so amazing, they’ve now gone international.
North West
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New boutique children’s wear store Gio Bespoke is turning princess dreams into reality one bedazzled dress at a time.
The luxury store, off Fletcher St in Essendon, stocks an array of everyday and formal wear for kids.
Owner Jo Corona, who created the brand three years ago, designs the fabrics and makes the custom dresses in her workshop at the store.
“A lot of them are hand beaded,” she said.
“Everyone is stopping past the shop to look inside.”
The designer, who has been in the industry for 20 years, specialises in christening, communion and special occasion dresses.
“There’s been a real call for children’s christening dresses – it was so ‘made in China’ and not personalised and people are loving the fact I give them that personalised kind of service,” Ms Corona said.
“I’m designing a dress for them, specific to their child.”
Her brand has been so successful it is now stocked internationally in the US, Italy, the Middle East and will soon be heading to Russia.
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Ms Corona said she loved fashion ever since her grandma taught her how to make clothes when she was just five years old.
“It’s a way to express life, it’s something I really enjoy – my mind has so much going on inside, it’s a release for me,” she said.
“It’s great to give people garments that are so beautiful to celebrate such big milestones.”
The 40-year-old designer from Niddrie also dabbles in womenswear and designed her own wedding dress, which is on display at the front of the store.
Gio Bespoke stocks girls sizes zero to 16, but is planning to extend to boys clothes around June this year.