Upcycling an Unlikely Waste Stream: Wedding Dresses

Love the idea of a challenge? Well, we certainly found a tough one! Redress founder Christina Dean and Redress Design Award alumna Cora Bellotto take us with them on a luxury-waste rescue mission of an unlikely waste stream: brand new, discarded wedding dresses. 

Neck deep in frills and lace in the beautiful Italian countryside, don’t be misled by ideals of romance — like much of the fashion industry, this is a production waste stream with an overwhelming challenge. Watch the duo explore two solutions, reuse and redesign, in a behind-the-scenes video.

Want to walk your own green aisle for your wedding? Visit Vestiaire Collective for select rescued wedding dresses available for purchase, with 25% of proceeds going to Redress, and the remaining funds going to support Cora’s further personal and professional exploration of sustainable solutions.

Cora was a finalist in our 2015/16 competition cycle, in which she wowed our judges with her upcycled wedding dress collection. Her investigation into wedding dress redesign continues making wider waves, and you can follow her design work on Instagram @corabellotto. Coming up, she will be sharing her wedding dress sustainability expertise in a series of workshops at various Italian universities. Bellissimo!