An Australian wedding dress designer said the “writing was on the wall” long before a North Perth bridal boutique collapsed this week, describing the debacle as “on another level”.
Jane Hill creative director Jasmine Hill and her team are rushing to produce and freight dozens of gowns to distraught brides after it was revealed NOA Bridal never ordered about a dozen dresses with the Melbourne-based label — despite the brides having paid for them.
Ms Hill said 25 brides-to-be impacted by the store’s closure had contacted her in the past 48 hours, telling The West Australian at least half of the dresses were not in their system and had never been ordered.
“We didn’t know that these brides existed until yesterday and the day before,” she said.
“We’ve had seamstresses, cutters, pattern makers (and) hand finishers staying back until all hours trying to get handwork done to get the gowns completed, and then obviously just organising all of the orders that needed to be placed in production that we didn’t know existed has been a huge task.”
But Ms Hill said the bridal boutique’s closure did not come as a surprise to her, revealing her label had ongoing issues with NOA Bridal dating back to 2022.
The creative director claimed Jane Hill was owed a “significant amount” of money, adding the label was only speaking out given the “severity” of the situation.
“There’s been a difficult relationship between us and NOA for a very long time and payments have been a big ongoing issue,” Ms Hill said.
![NOA Bridal, a Perth bridal shop, has announced the store's sudden closure due to bankruptcy.](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/d4dcedf7cbc3935191ed0e8652d3e149c18a37fc.jpg)
“We haven’t been paid for things back to 2022, possibly even further.
“I would say the writing’s been on the wall for a long time.”
Ms Hill said in the meantime she and her team were doing their best to move heaven and earth to ensure the brides who thought they had purchased Jane Hill dresses received their gowns.
Jane Hill is not the only business fielding calls from concerned brides, with other impacted customers choosing gowns from Sydney designer Ingrid Olic, Melbourne’s Marquise Bridal and the Netherlands-based Blanc Wear.
The demise of NOA Bridal left at least 30 women in the lurch after owner Elizabeth Lyndon-James informed them via email on Tuesday the store was closing and she would not be able to deliver their dresses.
While the closure did not come as a shock to some customers — a handful of brides were informed by Ms Lyndon-James in the months prior she was closing after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis — it completely blindsided others.
Mandy Hopper, who had ordered and paid in full for a Jane Hill gown, said she had been assured her dress would still be delivered.
![NOA Bridal Liquidation: Mandy Hopper has been left without her wedding dress.](https://timesofsydney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/f863956fb47c59a0cce0aa61a6b00c62cae1d455.jpg)
She said Ms Lyndon-James prompted her numerous times via text to make her final payment to secure the delivery of her dress after she was told the store was closing.
Many of the brides The West spoke to, like Ms Hopper, had already paid in full for their dream dresses.
“Honestly I’m probably just too trusting,” Ms Hopper said.
“I was like, ‘dress is coming in, it’s going to this place (and) I’ll hear from them and like I just didn’t think anything of it.”
The West has attempted to contact Ms Lyndon-James multiple times for comment.
A Consumer Protection spokeswoman urged anyone who had not received dresses they had paid for to lodge a complaint and initiate claims in the Magistrates Court to recover their money.
She also urged shoppers to be wary of businesses that only offer bank transfers instead of “more secure payment methods”, like credit card or PayPal which offer dispute resolution and refund options.
“Consumer Protection advises against making payments via bank transfer, as funds can be difficult to recover if the goods are not delivered or the business closes down,” she said.