About the Fashion Designer
Karin Brettmeister — Fashion Designer and Creative Director of Ritual Unions
Karin Brettmeister is a Berlin-based fashion designer known for redefining bridal and evening wear through a modern, avant-garde lens. As the founder and creative director of Ritual Unions, she creates couture that rejects convention and prioritises individuality, attitude, and self-expression.
Her work is defined by sculptural silhouettes, unconventional materials, and a clear aesthetic position: fashion should never feel like a costume — it should feel like you.
A Fashion Designer Who Refuses Tradition
Karin Brettmeister openly insists she will never get married.
And that is precisely what makes her one of the most compelling bridal fashion designers today.
Free from tradition, expectation, and inherited rules, her approach to bridal and evening wear is radically personal. She does not design for traditions — she designs for people. The focus is never on symbolism or convention, but on how a garment makes someone feel: confident, powerful, and unmistakably themselves.
This philosophy has become the foundation of Ritual Unions and the reason why clients seeking modern, alternative bridal and couture dresses are drawn to her work.
Making Bridal and Evening Wear edgy
As a fashion designer, Karin Brettmeister set out with a clear mission:
to make bridal and evening wear relevant, contemporary, and emotionally honest.
Ritual Unions offers modern alternatives to classic wedding dresses and traditional evening gowns — pieces that exist between couture, art, and fashion. Each design challenges outdated ideas of femininity and elegance, replacing them with strength, clarity, and individuality.
The result is couture that feels modern, wearable, and deeply personal — whether for a wedding, a ceremony, or the red carpet.
Craftsmanship at the Core
After graduating top of her class from ESMOD Munich, Karin refined her couture expertise at internationally renowned fashion houses including Marchesa in New York and J. Mendel in Paris.
In 2017, she founded Ritual Unions in Berlin as a fully independent couture label. Built entirely through organic growth, the brand operates without external production. Every garment is handmade in-house in the Berlin atelier — a conscious commitment to craftsmanship, quality, and sustainability.
This hands-on approach allows the fashion designer to remain closely involved in every stage of creation, from first concept to final fitting.
A Personal, Collaborative Process
What sets Karin Brettmeister apart as a fashion designer is the close, personal collaboration with each client. Every couture piece is developed through an intimate process of fittings, dialogue, and refinement.
Her inspiration is deeply rooted in her family history: her grandparents, who ran their own small tailoring studio, lived a life defined by love, craft, and dedication. That legacy continues today in every hand-sewn detail, every final adjustment, and every moment a client sees themselves fully reflected in a garment.
Why Ritual Unions Is Different
Designed by a fashion designer, not a traditional bridal house
Modern, avant-garde alternatives to classic bridal and evening wear
Entirely handcrafted in a Berlin couture atelier
Deeply personal, made-to-measure process
Focus on individuality, not tradition
Aesthetic clarity with emotional depth
“The greatest reward isn’t awards or milestones — it’s the emotional connection.
Seeing someone feel truly themselves in a dress. That’s what makes this my dream job.”
— Karin Brettmeister
