Destination wedding dresses, made to measure in Milan
Silk gowns cut by hand for brides marrying on Lake Como and across Italy — fitted forty minutes from the lake.
THE DRESS THAT TRAVELS WITH YOU
THE DRESS THAT TRAVELS WITH YOU
FRAQAIR is a made-to-measure house between Milan and Lake Como. We make destination wedding dresses, evening gowns and resort dresses for women marrying and travelling far from home — cut by hand from Italian silk, in small numbers, in our own atelier.
Most of our brides live in the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia and marry on Lake Como, the Amalfi Coast or Lake Garda. They order a bespoke wedding dress from Italy without moving their wedding around a fitting schedule, because the atelier is forty minutes from the lake and everything else happens by video, in their own time zone.
FOUNDER & DESIGNER
Made to Move
I grew tired of eveningwear that asked a woman to stand still — heavy, rigid gowns built for one room and one night. So I make the opposite: dresses cut from natural silks that fold into almost nothing and fall open the moment you arrive.
Everything begins at Lake Como — the light moving on the water, silk caught in the breeze off the lake. Each dress starts as a sketch on my table and is cut in the atelier under my hands.
I don't sell from a rail. I take your measurements, and I keep them. That is how a dress made for your wedding becomes the one you wear for years afterwards.
— Nadia Fraqair
TWO WAYS TO WEAR FRAQAIR
One house, two doors
Wedding gowns are commissioned and cut to your measurements alone. Everything else is released in limited runs, made only after the order window closes.
The Commission
By consultation. Your wedding dress, designed with me and cut for your body. It begins with a conversation, not a size.
Made — to your measurements
Time — 14–18 weeks in the atelier
Fittings — Milan or by video, included
To reserve — 50% deposit
From — €6,000
The Collection
Limited runs, order windows. Evening, resort and silk, in your size. Each run opens for two weeks, then the atelier cuts only what was ordered.
Made — standard sizing, in Italy
Time — 6–8 weeks after the window closes
Your fit — made to measure, +35%
Stock — none held, nothing overproduced
From — €200
THE COMMISSION
Three ways to commission a wedding dress
Where you begin depends on how much of the day you would like held in one pair of hands.
The Gown
From €6,000
Your wedding dress, made to your measurements from first sketch to final fitting. · Design consultation and sketch · Toile fitted in Milan or by video · Two fittings, alterations included · Delivered to your villa or hotel
The Gown & the Image
From €25,000
The dress and the way your day is remembered, directed by one author — the reason this house exists. · Everything in The Gown · Photography and film on the day · Creative direction of the look · Editorial portrait sitting on the lake
The Wardrobe
From €2,400 · returning clients
The door between the two. Once your measurements are in the archive, anything can be cut for you — without a single fitting. · Order from anywhere, no travel · Cut from your existing pattern · Priority in the atelier calendar · Evening, resort and occasion
FOR BRIDES IN THE US, UK & AUSTRALIA
Ordering a wedding dress from abroad
Most brides visit their venue at least once before the wedding. That trip is all the atelier needs. Everything else happens from where you are.
12–18 months before
We talk, wherever you are. A video consultation in your own time zone — your venue, the season, the light. I sketch from that.
9–12 months before
Your measurements are taken, in Milan or remotely in a guided session. Either way they enter the archive and stay there.
4–6 months before
The toile, fitted on your site visit. One appointment, attached to the trip you were making anyway. The lake is forty minutes away.
14–18 weeks in the atelier
Silk chosen, cut, sewn and finished by hand in small numbers. You see it as it is built, not as a surprise at the end.
The week of
Delivered and fitted at your villa or hotel. No shipping crate, no unknown seamstress, no alterations bill you did not expect.
THE COLLECTION
Wedding, evening and resort dresses
By consultation · from €6,000. For the bride saying yes far from home. Weightless silk gowns that leave the case without a crease.
Destination Wedding Dresses
Order window open · €1,900–€3,500. Fluid silhouettes in natural silk, holding their line from the first toast to the last dance.
Evening Dresses
Order window open · €1,200–€1,800. The dresses you live in between occasions. Composed the moment you land.
Resort & Travel
Ships now · €200–€500. Scarves, veils and slips cut from the same silk as the gowns, in the same atelier.
Como Silk
THE ATELIER
An Italian atelier between Milan and Lake Como
Every FRAQAIR dress is made in Italy. I design and cut; a small circle of sarte and embroiderers builds each piece. Nothing is produced before it is ordered.
Silk — woven in Como, thirty minutes from the atelier
Cutting — by hand, on your measurements, never graded from a block
Embroidery — worked by hand where a piece calls for it
Quantity — made after the order, never held as stock
LAKE COMO
I know the rooms your dress will walk through
I live and work on this lake. I have photographed weddings on its terraces, arrived at them by boat, waited out its afternoon wind and its evening light. A gown made here is cut for the heat of a July terrace and the walk down a villa's steps — not guessed at from a studio ten thousand kilometres away.
Villa del Balbianello · Villa Erba · Villa Balbiano
Grand Hotel Tremezzo · Villa Pizzo · Bellagio
QUESTIONS BRIDES ASK
Commissioning a wedding dress from another continent
Yes — most FRAQAIR brides do. The consultation and measuring session happen by video in your own time zone. One fitting takes place in the Milan atelier, usually attached to the trip you are already making to see your venue, and the finished gown is delivered and adjusted at your villa or hotel in the week of the wedding.
Fourteen to eighteen weeks in the atelier, from cutting to final finishing. Including design, measuring and fittings, brides usually begin twelve to eighteen months before the wedding. The atelier closes its book for the following summer in February.
One visit is ideal, and the atelier is forty minutes from Lake Como, so it fits easily alongside a venue visit. If travel is not possible, measurements are taken remotely in a guided session and the toile is fitted by video. All fittings and alterations are included in the price — there is no separate alterations bill.
Wedding gowns begin at €6,000, which covers design, the toile, all fittings, alterations and delivery. The commission that also includes photography, film and creative direction of the day begins at €25,000. A deposit of 50% reserves your place in the atelier calendar.
Twelve to eighteen months before the date. Lake Como venues book far in advance and the atelier takes a limited number of weddings each season, so the earlier the consultation, the more freedom there is in fabric, silhouette and fitting dates.
Evening, resort and silk pieces open for orders for two weeks at a time. When the window closes, the atelier cuts only what was ordered and it reaches you six to eight weeks later. Nothing is overproduced, nothing is marked down at the end of a season, and any piece can be made to your measurements for an additional 35%.
That is what the house is built for. Your measurements and pattern stay in the archive, so evening and resort pieces can be cut for you afterwards without a single fitting, ordered from wherever you are.
THE CONSULTATION
Tell me about your day
A private conversation with me, by video from anywhere or in person at the atelier in Milan. No cost and no obligation — and I hold consultation hours for Australian mornings and American evenings.
In your message, please tell me: where you live, the date and venue of your wedding, and whether you are looking for a gown, a gown with photography, or something from the collection.