Pronovias launches bridal ‘Second Life’ initiative

Luxury bridal brand Pronovias is asking its brides to wear their wedding gowns again and again with its ‘Second Life’ initiative, which will give bridal dresses a new look with its free new alteration service.

The wedding industry has long been criticised for not switching to more sustainable methods and Pronovias is looking to bring about change with its ‘Second Life’ programme. The aim is that the initiative will encourage more wears and longevity of bridal styles and allow brides to transform their bridal gowns into a new style after their wedding.

Commenting on the initiative, Pronovias Group chief executive, Amandine Ohayon, said in a statement: “Bridal fashion is not exactly known for its circularity. ‘Second Life’ is step towards rectifying this and pushing the sector towards better sustainability standards. This is vital for the future of our industry and the legacy we wish to leave.”

The Pronovias ‘Second Life’ initiative launches with a “carefully selected” collection designed by Pronovias Group chief artistic officer Alessandra Rinaudo featuring 70 bridal gowns from the Pronovias and Nicole Milano brands. These gowns can be redesigned free of charge into a new style, to allow brides to “fall in love again with their dress after the wedding is over”.

Brides will be able to transform their gowns into special occasion dresses by altering the length, eliminating sleeves, and adding belts straps, sashes and other details to create a new look, with all alterations free of charge.

While initially, the initiative has around 70 gowns in the collection, Pronovias adds that the number of dresses that will be able to be given a ‘Second Life’ will increase with each new bridal collection launched by the brand.

The service will be available in all Pronovias flagship stores, including in the UK, US, Spain, France and Poland.

Pronovias to give wedding dresses a second life with free new alternation service

Rinaudo added: “This is a very special project because what we are doing is giving a new opportunity to dresses that are traditionally only worn once. Seeing a dress that we have made with so much love and dedication continue to form part of a woman’s wardrobe makes me very happy.

“Additionally, we all know the urgency of looking after the environment. This is only a small step, but it forms part of our ambition to make our industry more sustainable.”

All the bride needs to do, to give their bridal gown a second life is to return it to her Pronovias flagship store, where it will be altered, without any additional cost, into a dress she can wear again to a party, her wedding anniversary, or on any other occasion.

The ‘Second Life’ looks are inspired by four different styles, including romantic, boho, elegant and party, with Pronovias adding that its bridal consultants will help brides visualise how their dress will look with the alterations.

The initiative forms part of Pronovias Group’s strategy to bring bridal up to date with the rest of the fashion industry in becoming more sustainable and circular. Other projects include the #WeDoEco sustainable dress collection made with 100 percent ecological fabrics and materials and in some cases locally manufactured to reduce carbon footprint, and its partnership with Recovo, a platform promoting the recycling of surplus fabric to reduce environmental impact and textile waste.