A new dress is born. The WASTED DRESS.

The WASTED DRESS is more than just a new piece. Even if we love to create for the beauty of fashion itself and love to just play around with ideas, materials and fabrics…

We still needed to create something different, something beyond beauty, something that stands for our own values.

Something that makes our point clear.

It’s 2021 and in the past few years a lot has happened and fair and sustainable fashion has definitely slipped more and more into the focus, which is incredibly good - and yet we still have a long way to go.

Especially in the bridal business, sustainability still is a niche and many people consider that it’s simply impossible to get a sustainable wedding dress. And yes, it’s partially true, because - yet - there is only a small amount of fabric sellers that produce the special high quality material you need for bridal couture in an ethical way.

So, we were looking for another way to express, that we’re ready for a change and we wanted to show, that even bridal fashion can be a part of it…

…that you don ́t need to miss out on extravagance or elegance, just to wear a more sustainable dress.

You can have both. Couture Design and ethicality. Why don’t just go for it?

So we did.

The Wasted Dress is completely made from fabric scraps.

Waste, that we were gathering from our own production since we started.

Small fabric leftovers, we could not use anymore, but wouldn’t throw away either.

We collected them over the years and at some point Karin, the designer behind Ritual Unions got inspired to create something unique.

It’s an overwhelming feeling to know, that we can use something to create a piece of art out of, most people just see as trash until they are looking at the final result. When you think about it, how fabric is made… It has to be grown, the yarn must be spun, the fabric must be woven, dyed, packed, cut,… what is left? Just because the scraps are “left over”, doesn’t mean the quality is less.

It was a long process of draping and pinning and playing around with the material. But that’s what fashion design is all about: creating something new, getting inspired during the process and surprised by the own ideas that develop almost automatically.

We're very proud of this unique piece, not only because of the elaborate design and production process, also because sustainability is of such great importance to us.

That's why we thought this special dress doesn't need to wait for the next collection to come out, it deserves to stand by itself.

Due to the fact, that we only use leftovers and fabric waste, the availability is very limited and you can order by request only.

To celebrate this new dress, we teamed up with the beautiful muse Frankie Miles, talented photographer Franziska Kuttler and most professional bridal Make-Up-and-Hair Artist Stella Loewnich to complete our Ritual Unions family and created a wonderful bridal editorial.

We could not imagine a better team for the first shooting with the WASTED DRESS.

Thank you so much for reading this and let us know your thoughts in the comments. We’re heading to a fabulous, sustainable future, step by step, and we’re excited to be on this great journey with you.

XXX

Team Ritual Unions

Text: Ayleen Tuncer
Designer Ritual Unions: Karin Brettmeister
Team Members involved in the design and production process: Melina Kruse, Diana Tuhcic, Fadia Mustafa

Photo Shoot Credits:
Photographer: Franziska Kuttler
Muse: Frankie Miles
Make Up and Hair Artist: SL Make Up And Hair - Stella Löwnich
Concept and Planning: Ayleen Tuncer
Fashion Styling: Diana Tuhcic

WASTED COUTURE