We interviewed 3 eco conscious wedding dress designers in Europe for modern brides

Ritual Unions BERLIN

Backstory

Ritual Unions was founded in 2017, Karin the founder worked as a designer and creative pattern maker in the couture fashion industry for several years at different companies such as Kaviar Gauche Berlin, J. Mendel and Marchesa New York among others. When she felt the strong urge to fill a gap in the wedding market and offer high-end craftsmanship designs to a fresh, young, diverse and open-minded bride generation.

Our style in one sentence

21st century bridal at it's brave and brilliant best.

OUR BRIDES

Ritual Union brides are looking for something unique. They know we are able to design dresses for a wide range of personalities. Diversity is super important to us, and we want to create something unique for each of our brides. Not only do we take their wishes into account, but also suggest new innovate ideas. Our collection includes many different styles for different brides.

challengES INVOLVED WITH being an eco conscious dress designer

Sourcing sustainable fabrics for bridal wear is really hard. Especially in laces, embroideries and silks. We have a very high standard and don't want our designs to loose impact because of poor material choice, so finding the right the ethical textiles is our main challenge. Sustainability is very important to us and sourcing is the only area that I would like to see an improvement in. But that depends a lot on fabric producers, I focus on what I can do best for now as a small business. We make every single dress in our own atelier in Berlin, we only order as much fabric as we use, we recycle all scraps, even the smallest pieces. We order fabrics within Europe from well established producers with a high quality standard.

how we adapt to our brides

We offer a small number of custom dresses for brides who are looking for something unique. The pre-designed collection is also customisable in a limited scale.

OUR PRICE RANGE

Tops, pants, skirts range between €500 - €1500 and our Dresses €2000-€6000

L’arca BARCELONA

HOW WAS L’Arca born

L’Arca is the shared project of two sisters, Nina and Carmina, who advocate for sustainability by revitalising vintage garments. Since 1980, we have lovingly offered unique and ethereal pieces for sale in a distinctive space. L’Arca is a family business of several generations of women. We collect vintage dresses and veils, timeless and feminine. We find inspiration in this vintage universe to produce delicate dresses and accessories for “new romantics” in our own atelier in Barcelona. Granddaughter of antique dealers, our mother, Carmen Viñas went from selling vintage furniture to selling old clothes and in the 1980s after discovering her “marché aux puces” in Paris she founded L’Arca in Barcelona. She had great success, selling to designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano and supplying costumes for movies: she provided part of the wardrobe that Kate Winslet wore in Titanic, and also all the wardrobe of bohemian Penelope Cruz in the Woody Allen film Vicki Cristina Barcelona.

Describe your style to us in one sentence

Ethereal vintage gowns for romantic brides, slowly made in Barcelona with a focus on preservation of ancient craftsmanship

Why do your brides come to L’arca, What are they looking for?

Our brides are seeking originality and uniqueness, contemporary styles, delicate lace and vintage touches. In our atelier, experts hands will carefully craft the wedding dress, reviving artisanal techniques and fabrics.

What is the most challenging thing about being an eco conscious dress designer?

Sustainability is a continuous journey and we are always trying to improve, 100% eco friendly gowns are still a challenge. For us, it’s being able to embrace multiple aspects of sustainability, not only manufacturing for low environmental impact but also local design, connection with the community and ethical working conditions for our seamstresses.

How do you manage to source ethical sustainable textiles?

In our opinion, designing a wedding dress from recycled fabrics or incorporating old elements is one of the best ways to have a sustainable dress. We create unique dresses with antique fabrics and vintage lace. They are beautiful, unique and sustainable at the same time, because they are the combination of cotton and silk. We use antique laces like Valenciennes, bobbin lace , guipure and we prioritise working with natural organic fabrics.

Do you design custom made dresses, or are all your dresses pre designed?

We offer the option of designing unique custom made dresses and each garment is tailor made in our atelier. We also have a new collection every year, and we commit to having at least one sustainable model in each collection, with the option of making adjustments so our dresses are unique and exclusive for our brides. We also have a beautiful selection of authentic vintage wedding dresses, Gatsby dresses from the 20s, Edwardian-style summer dresses, lingerie, kimonos with soft draping and delicate features.

What price do your dresses range from

Our main collection ranges from €2200 to €2800 all our collections are made to measure in our atelier in Barcelona. The vintage dresses start at €600.

Cortana MADRID

Backstory

Cortana is the fashion Brand of Rosa Esteva, born and raised in a small town on the island of Majorca, where from a young age she developed a strong bond with art and nature. At the age of 18 she moved to Barcelona where she studied fine art and fashion design.
In 2001 she founded Cortana and opened stores in Barcelona, Madrid and Palma de Mallorca.

YOUR STYLE IN ONE SENTENCE

Simplicity, sustainability and a slow fashion philosophy are at the core of Cortana and we are contemporary, feminine and carefree.  

what OUR BRIDES are seeking

Unique hand crafted dresses produced locally with great attention to details. Light-weight fabrics that effortlessly flatter our brides.

What is the most challenging thing about being an eco conscious dress designer?

Finding pure natural fabrics and skilled textile artisans that can produce our designs locally in Spain.

How do you manage to source ethical sustainable textiles?

The search for sustainable fabrics is always a very rewarding but extremely challenging experience. When beautiful natural fabrics are found the designs come to life effortlessly, but the hunt can be a long and tiring one.

Do you design custom made dresses, or are all your dresses pre designed?

We have collections of pre-designed dress but personalise them for each of our brides so they work well with their style and body type.

THE PRICE RANGE OF A cORTANA DRESS

From €1800 to €5000

Ethical sustainable fabrics

Rare find

Our creative wedding dress designers are encountering the same issues in sourcing unique, high-quality and diverse fabrics for their gowns. If any of you can recommend any sustainable ethical fabric producers, please feel free to share in the comments section below.

If you want to stay up to date with our future posts, latest news and interviews join our eco community