About Raishma

Raishma is a British designer label founded by Raishma Islam, making occasion wear and bridal that draws on both London tailoring and South Asian craft traditions.

The two collections

Raishma London is the couture-leaning line: hand-embellished and beaded evening gowns, bridal pieces, and the kind of dress bought for one significant day. Raishma Studio is the accessible half, built around the label's own hand-drawn prints on ready-to-wear dresses. Alongside both there is a modest wear selection with longer sleeves and higher necklines, and a children's range with matching mother-and-daughter designs. The boutique is in Paddington if you would rather try before buying.

Buying occasion wear online

Order earlier than feels necessary. Embellished and made-to-order pieces are not pulled off a shelf, and if a dress needs taking up or in — and most floor-length occasion wear does — a seamstress needs time too, particularly in wedding season. Check the returns window against your event date rather than the order date, and read whether bespoke and altered pieces are returnable at all, since customised garments usually are not.

Looking after beaded and embellished pieces

Hand embellishment does not go in a washing machine, ever. These are specialist dry-clean garments, and it is worth telling the cleaner where the beading is so they can protect it. Store a heavy beaded gown flat or supported rather than on a thin hanger, because the weight of the beading will stretch the shoulders out of shape over months. Put jewellery and perfume on before the dress, not after — the commonest way an embellished neckline gets snagged or stained is at the last minute.

Sizing on occasion wear runs closer than on everyday clothing, because the shapes are structured and there is less give in an embellished bodice than in jersey. Measure your bust, waist and hips and read them against the chart rather than ordering the size on your usual label, and if you fall between two, the larger one taken in by a seamstress will always sit better than the smaller one let out.

Using a Raishma discount code

Choose the piece and size, add the code in the discount field at the checkout stage, then check the new total.