Thelma Madine-Akin is a wedding dressmaker born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. She rose to fame after appearing as the traveller wedding dressmaker in ''

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding ''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 4, that explored the lives and traditions of several British Traveller families as they prepared to unite one of their members in marriage. The series also feature ...

'', a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

documentary on

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

as they prepare for marriage. She is best known for her outlandish creations, including a palm tree

wedding gown A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo-Sa ...

with Swarovski crystals.

Early life and education

Madine grew up in Croxteth, Liverpool with her older brother, Tom. Her father was an engineer and her mother worked in catering. After she left school, she worked in wedding catering with her mother. At 18, she married Kenny Madine, a businessman with a successful glass company, and the couple had three children: Kenneth, Tracey and Hayley. Thelma and Kenny divorced in 1999. She remarried a year later in 2000, to Peter Akin; their marriage was short lived and they divorced shortly after. Madine continues to use her first husband's surname in order to share the same name as her children.

Career

With a loan from her aunt and her divorce settlement money, Madine began selling her handmade dresses on a market stall. Madine set up her own chain of children's clothing shops in 2002 called Madine's Miniatures in the Liverpool area. Business took off when she began designing Communion outfits, but a few years later business disintegrated and she was forced to close shop. In 2006, she managed to resurrect her business with financial help from her aunt and a business partner. She set up a stall in Paddy's Market still selling Communion clothes, specialising in christening outfits for girls. Madine's designs were inspired by the elaborateness of historical outfits. In 2003, a traveller woman who frequented her stall, and had become her friend, asked Madine to make a wedding dress for her daughter. After that, she received more requests, which led to her setting up her now-famous wedding dress shop, and gradually attracted the attention of the media, including Dr Jenny Popplewell, the creator and developer of ''

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings ''Big Fat Gypsy Weddings'' is a British documentary series broadcast on Channel 4, that explored the lives and traditions of several British Traveller families as they prepared to unite one of their members in marriage. The series also feature ...

''. Madine has in recent years progressed to offering wedding planning services.

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

Madine initially declined invitations to appear on the

show, ''

'', as she had done something similar in 2007 and did not like the way the traveller community had been portrayed. Eventually she agreed and the show became a success.

Writing

In 2012, Madine published a book, ''Tales of the Gypsy Dressmaker'', about her experiences with the traveller community.

Figurines

In 2014, she teamed up with The English Ladies Co, china figurines designers based in Stoke-on-Trent, to create a range of figurines called ''Gypsy Wedding Dreams''. Each figurine is inspired by Madine's wedding dress designs, and individually handmade by artisans, hence the unique appearance and high attention to detail.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madine, Thelma 1953 births Living people People from Croxteth Businesspeople from Liverpool British fashion designers