Upcycling a wedding dress for defender Olena, as part of the charity project "Wedding of the Unconquered"

Upcycling a wedding dress

The charity project for the military "Wedding of the Unconquered" began with the collection of wedding dresses for defenders, announced by the founder of the VIDDANI project Anna Savka. Ukrainian women sent their dresses from different parts of Ukraine and the world, and the MargaM wedding atelier dress joined them. The condition, cost and relevance of the dresses were completely different and they all needed attention, restoration and a space in which to meet the bride. Thus began the story of upcycling wedding dresses for defenders.

For her transformation, the bride Olena chose the ORION wedding dress, 2015 collection, Avenue Diagonal brand, a subsidiary of Pronovias.

What exactly did we do with the dress:

• disassembled the dress into separate parts: corset, skirt, and skirt lining;

• the dress was adjusted to the figure by reducing the size of the corset and the length of the skirt;

• replaced the loops with ribbon in the dress's back clasp;

• replaced the warped regiline in the corset and sewed in an additional one to improve the quality of the corset's fit;

• replaced the damaged, synthetic lining with a lightweight one with a natural composition;

• restored the frame base of the skirt from stiff tulle;

• changed the shape of the neckline;

• repaired the damaged lace of the corset;

• replaced the soft regilin in the bottom seam of the skirt;

• added three layers of lightweight tulle skirts and a thin belt, made of baguette-shaped crystals, to accentuate the waistline.

They completed the look with a long, cathedral veil.

Upcycling a wedding dress is an important trend in design and industry, focused on responsible consumption and environmental stewardship.