b'Redress Yourself When your gown, like your love, is sustainableBY ADRIANNA DONATCarlson in her home studio where she breathes new life into vintage wedding dresses.B ytradition,weddinggownsaresign and spent her career in the wedding gown in- designs while using less. socialjusticewarrior,says opulent, meant to be worn once dustry, working for well-known design firms such asMydaughterisa then forever afterward relegated toArnold Scaasi (famous for dressing the likes of BarbraCarlson.Shewouldbringmetovintagecloth-a corner of the attic. As much asStreisand and Barbara Bush), Victoria Royal (knowning stores and ask what I was doing with my old we love the idea of an extravagantfor its gorgeous bead work), and Davids Bridal (aclothes. It made her look around at what was hap-wedding gown, many people get- place to find a treasure trove of big-name bridal de- pening in her industry.ting married today embrace a lowsigners, with 400 stores in the U.S. and U.K.).ShestartedreadingbookssuchasUnraveled: waste wedding ideal. And industry critics are turn- Carlson loved her time in the industry, and spentThe Life and Death of a Garment, by Maxine Badot, ing an especially furrowed brow toward expensiveitsteepedinfabrics,intricatelaces,anddelicatewhich opened her eyes to exactly how much harm wedding gowns that are only worn for a few hours.beadwork. She developed a line for Oleg Cassini.the fashion industry was doing to the environment. But how can a bride find a gorgeous, unique dressAnd she even made her own wedding dress. In my previous jobs we would create 200 dresses without all the waste? But though she adored her job, things got bumpyto develop 15, says Carlson. It was crazy wasteful. Wedding gown designer Christine Carlson hasfor her when Davids Bridal closed its design shop inCarlson started to realize this was an issue she spentthelastfewyearsfine-tuningthesolution:New York City. Many jobs moved to China, shecould do something about. A way to make the world one-of-a-kind, upcycled vintage dresses reimaginedsays. This also meant many bridal designs started tobetter,nothurttheenvironment,andfeelproud using sustainable fabrics. It sounds like hard work,have a cookie-cutter look about them.aboutit.Iwantedtotakevintageclothingand but its a labor of love for her. And there was a larger issue: so much industrymake it work for modern people, she says.Carlson studied fashion at Parsons School of De- excess. She knew she could make more distinctiveBut anyone who has tried on vintage clothes knows 14/ matters magazine / spring 2022'