The Pippa Gown, a dress that made the news.
The Pippa Gown, a unique wedding dress, is the brainchild of sustainable fashion designer Sanyukta Shrestha. It is crafted from newspapers dating back to 1982, discovered under the floor of her new home. Due to the paper's age and fragility, each piece had to be carefully aligned with the fabric and hand-ironed before being incorporated into the dress.
The paper was then meticulously hand-pleated, hand-carved, and hand-stitched into the design. Adorned with 3,000 Swarovski crystals, the innovative dress took nearly two months to complete.
This sustainable wedding dress was selected for display at the You Choose exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Bath, England. The exhibition, running until October 30, 2022, was co-curated by various individuals and groups from across Bath and North East Somerset. The curators, including local residents, Fashion Design students from Bath Spa University, and children from Oldfield Park Junior School, selected pieces from the museum's collection that resonated with their personal interpretation of fashion. The gown is not just a piece of clothing but a work of art, encapsulating a story of history, sustainability, and fashion innovation.
Sanyukta Shrestha, a London-based designer originally from Nepal, made history in 2011 as one of the pioneers introducing sustainability to the bridal industry. She was also the first Nepali woman to be recognized in the annals of the fashion industry. Shrestha actively advocates for female empowerment in developing countries.
The Pippa Gown now resides in the Fashion Museum in Bath, England, one of the world's premier fashion museums. It stands as a testament to slow fashion - timeless designs of enduring quality - and circular fashion, which considers the entire life cycle of a product, from design to end-of-life. The gown serves as an educational example of how extraordinary pieces can be created from ordinary materials through the practice of upcycling.
The Pippa Gown pushes the boundaries of what can be achieved with upcycled materials, challenging our perceptions of traditional fashion design. It serves as a powerful reminder of the role fashion can play in promoting sustainability, inspiring us to consider the life cycle of our own garments and the impact they have on our planet. This dress truly embodies the spirit of sustainable fashion - it is imaginative, thoughtful, and beautifully crafted.
