A Barrowford-based clothing studio is making waves in the world of show business and reality TV.

Rene K Couture Clothing specialises in made-to-measure women’s clothing - and the gorgeous ranges have attracted the attention of well-known celebrities.

Carrie-Ann Kay, the owner and chief designer at Rene K Couture, has worked with The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) stars, as well as famous soap stars.

 Carrie, styling some of Rene K Couture's clothes (Photo: Instagram/renekcouture)

What started out as a hobby and side hustle using her grandmother’s old sewing machine soon blossomed into a global enterprise for Carrie, who ran boutiques all over the world.

Carrie, who was born and bred in Burnley, said she rose to the forefront of celebrity circles after the rise in popularity of social media.

She said: “When social media and online shopping started to become popular, boutiques began to collapse

“Within a year I’d lost 20 boutiques. I had to fold the business and nearly lost my house.

“But then one of my friends introduced me to this new thing called Instagram.

“Within a year I amassed 20,000 followers and social media stars were wearing my clothes.

“I didn’t have a clue who they were as I didn’t watch television - but they were getting in touch with me for clothes.”

Carrie said she is still friendly with the stars to this day.

She explained: “I became known as the 'Towie' dress maker- and every single member of Towie wore my outfits for major events at some point.

“I went down and lived with Jess Wright for a week- I made their dresses and I even sat with Nanny Pat.”

She met the show’s star Mark Wright and his wife and ex-Coronation Street star, Michelle Keegan.

Carrie also made an outfit for Gemma Collins which she wore to the NTAs and “looked amazing” in it.


(Instagram/gemmacollins)

Danielle Armstrong and Ferne McCann are just two other stars in her list of celebrity clientele.

Geordie Shore’s Holly Hagan is also no stranger to Rene K Couture’s clothes as she shared a photo of herself wearing their leotard.

(Instagram/hollygshore)

One of Ms Kay’s most notable memories was making bridesmaid dresses for Josh Wright’s wedding to Hollie Kane back in 2018.

Carrie said: “A week before the wedding she rang me up crying and said her dressmaker could make the bridesmaid dresses anymore.”

“I told her I was booked up for months but eventually agreed as she was in tears.

“I had to make 15 bridesmaids dresses within six days.

“I stayed up for two nights coming up with designs and making the dresses. But it was so worth it as the bridesmaids looked beautiful and the pictures are unreal.”

(Instagram/holliekanewright)

“The experience also really pushed the bridal side of our business.”

Carrie said the difference between a made-to-measure dress and one that hasn’t been tailored is massive.

She said: “The difference is that you feel like you’re wearing the dress - the dress isn’t wearing you.

“It doesn’t matter if the dress is £10 or £10,000 - if a dress is altered to your body it makes all the difference.

“Best of all, we need curves in our dresses - boobs and bums make them.”

One of the newest ranges to Rene K Couture is their loungewear, which they introduced during the pandemic.

Carrie said: “We got a great response from the range - women who didn’t go to many occasions could still have a piece of Rene K in their wardrobe with the loungewear.”

You can learn more about the company and their range of clothes over on their website: https://www.renek.co.uk/