A wedding dress is one of the most exciting items of clothing that you get to wear. The shopping experience is like no other, the fitting process where you feel cared for and elite because you are literally stood on a pedestal having this garment is fitted for you. The day, the actual wedding day where you want to feel the best version of yourself for yourself, and perhaps for your partner waiting to say “I do”. For your photos so you can frame the memories of one of your best days. You’re a Bride and that is special and this dress is a special dress.
We asked Kate Atkinson, Founder of Bridal Reloved and Sustainable Wedding Alliance Ambassador to tell us more about what goes into producing a wedding dress.
What goes into making a wedding dress?
This dress also takes 10,000-20,000 litres of water to make plus 10- 20 kilograms of carbon emissions. They often have between 5-15 meters of fabric’s used… that’s the length of a bus! Add a few more layers for structure and volume and that’s a couple of busses. All this for an item that has just one purpose in life, to make it down the aisle.
So when we consciously take away the romance of this special dress, we can see that it comes with a greater cost than just the price tag.
What can you do with your dress to make sure it’s got a longer life span?
Sell it maybe and give the garment longevity. Make something out of it, all that wonderful fabric that you paid for.
If you don’t, and your dress ends up in landfill where 1000s of wedding dresses do each year. And not just worn wedding dresses. Many designers around the world actually pay to send their surplus, discontinued and sample stock to a hole in the ground where it’s going to take about 200 years to biodegrade, releasing many harmful greenhouse gasses along the way.
So, is it just a dress?
No, it’s your wedding dress. And it could also be your bags for life, your cushion covers, your white blouse, a white summer dress, a night gown, a christening gown, your bed spread, a woven wall hanging or a rag rug. Dye it, deconstruct it. And if you don’t have the skills, ask your bridal seamstress to help.
Tell us more about the wedding dress journey, and why it’s is important to you?
Over our time in the industry we have seen so many great garments made. We want you to embrace your own path. Whether that’s choosing a pre-loved, ex-sample or surplus gown. We want you to up-cycle the dress with your seamstress and make it your own by adding the sleeves you want of having a belt or a shorter train.
It’s this evolution of gown to bride, and bride to boutique that has rocketed our brand from one boutique to what it is today with 17 stores through out the UK open and three more launching in 2021. The demand for quality, service and a bespoke/add on/up-cycle is higher than ever. Brides, like you, are becoming more conscious of the impact of fast fashion and we are here for that.
If you’d like to find out more about Bridal Reloved, jump over to their website bridalreloved.co.uk
