Spring / Summer 2026 Couture

AWAKENING

Sheer ivory couture gown with dramatic cape and floral textures from Ritual Unions Lilith design — Look 1 - LILITH gown

Phoenix bridal two-piece with lace corset and oversized satin bow, SS26 Couture Awakening — Look 3 - PHOENIX two-piece

Black sheer corset gown with pearl details and white satin skirt, New Moon design by Ritual Unions — Look 4 - NEW MOON gown

Blow gown in white with draped mermaid silhouette and cut-out shoulders, avant-garde bridal couture — Look 7 - BLOW gown

Halo gown in sheer soft tulle with crystal halo details and ethereal silhouette, avant-garde couture — Look 10 - HALO gown

White satin cage corset with sheer soft tulle skirt and gloves, SS26 Couture Awakening — Look 5 - CAGE corset

Black feather couture shirt with matching wide-leg pants and dramatic headpiece, Ritual Unions — Look 8 - CANINE shirt & pants

Black couture blazer with cage-style cutouts and silver hook details, Ritual Unions SS26 — Look 6 - CAGE blazer

Silver sequin cape gown with structured corset bodice, Nikeata design by Ritual Unions SS26 — Look 9 - NIKEATA gown & cape

Sheer black lace floral top with matching skirt and veil, Dahlia set by Ritual Unions couture — Look 12 - DAHLIA two-piece

Opium dress in sheer lace with structured corset, matching gloves and full lace veil, Ritual Unions — Look 15 - OPIUM dress, gloves & veil

Gloria gown in white satin with structured cut-out bodice, oversized bow detail and sheer veil, avant-garde bridal couture — Look 16 - GLORIA gown

Awakening gown in sheer black tulle with beaded corset bodice, skirt attached by silver hooks and crystal embellishments — Look 17 - AWAKENING gown

Black double-breasted floorlength blazer with rhinestone and feather detailing, Canine look by Ritual Unions — Look 18 - CANINE blazer

Black leather serrated jacket with pearl-spiked shoulders, paired with floor-length sheer black skirt — Look 21 - SERRATED jacket & skirt

Muse black lace bodysuit with structured cage overskirt, hooks and sheer tulle panels, couture evening look close up — Look 23 - MUSE two-piece

Ritual Unions Couture SS26 “Awakening”

Karin Brettmeister, the Berlin-based luxury fashion designer behind Ritual Unions, has specialized in handmade wedding dresses for the past eight years. She insists that she will never be married.

The same considered detachment echoed through the first floor of the historic venue 1. OG on Französische Straße 47 in central Berlin on Saturday, as Ritual Unions debuted its first runway collection, Awakening.

Awakening proposes that self-removal from states of emotional intoxication allows for the refinement of a clearer vision.

back view Male model in Swan gown, white tulle skirt and corset from Ritual Unions Couture Awakening

close up Halo gown in sheer soft tulle with crystal halo details and ethereal silhouette, avant-garde couture

side view Black feather evening dress with oversized satin bows, SS26 Couture Awakening Collection

Printed on sleek black cards, a preface to the show was placed on every seat, which read:

“Enlightenment is an elusive moment. Awakening imagines it not as a final destination, but as something revealed through the embrace of extremes. The pursuit of revelation demands endurance — through highs and lows — which Karin evokes through stark contrasts. Concealed and exposed, hard and soft, black and white, the designs reflect a holistic acceptance of the opposing states we navigate in our search for clarity.

Intoxicated by the highs and lows of our emotions, we are sobered by the realization that each defines the other. In the perpetual shift between these extremes, we embark on the process of becoming. Perhaps only in the presence of both can we truly awaken.

close up Porcelain gown in white soft tulle with corset bodice, bow headpiece and long bridal veil

After eight years specializing in bridal couture, Awakening marks a turning point for Karin. Each look was handmade in her Berlin atelier, merging pieces from her archive with newly envisioned forms, resulting in a dialogue between past and future. Rooted in the tension of opposites, the collection presents a long-imagined vision as a moment of personal catharsis.”

A conversation between extremes, the presentation opened with a series of pure white dresses before oscillating between light and dark, and closing with a sequence of provocative all-black looks. Rigid skeletal corsetry, left exposed in some looks and clouded by layers of tulle in others, clashed with the movement of careful drapery.

Glistening black and white rhinestones appeared in numerous looks, with some models donning tulle masks graced by sequins and embroidery. White pearls, strung and pulled taut on a jacket and corset, looked like a defense mechanism. Each look presented its own dissonance—between form and material, detail and simplicity, tradition and innovation.

In the final look, metal hooks connect flowing tulle to the hips of an exaggerated corset frame, with the model’s hands bound behind her back with a ribbon.

It is no coincidence that, in the conclusion of a dialogue about what it takes to endure emotional extremes, the model is quite literally restrained.

Bridal look with structured cage corset, soft tulle skirt and Nada gloves, Ritual Unions couture

side view Black feather couture shirt with matching wide-leg pants and dramatic headpiece, Ritual Unions

Ritual Unions Lookbook SS26

Photographer: Tatsiana Tribunalova

Jewelry: Gina Melosi

Styling: Theo Vasiliou

Make Up and Hair: Hanna Scharmann-Klein, Stella Loewnich, Hanna Demodova, Lucas Oster, Natalie Paulikat, Vera Krause, Viktoria Turok

Models: Anna Hug, Daniel Klare, Edoardo Maraia, Eva Bloss, Eva Heise, Hanna Woldt, Hien Pham, Ida Cosic, Jana Heinisch, Jasmine Pringle, Jennifer Hajdu, Kira Sommer, Marq Porciuncula, Martha Gustafsson via Louisa Models, Matthias Hecht, Melanie Sittner via Inbetween Models, Melina Geishirt Eduardo, Natalie Fuebbeker, Nicole Getman, Paul Bastian Pham Opitz, Soraya Marzouh, Sümeyra Soylu, Thom Karstens

Contact Lenses Partner: Farblinsenshop / Aricona