Giving a latest Existence to wedding dresses

Marriage clothes have obvious sentimental value, so why depart them languishing in cedar closets? Designer Mariouche Gagne asked herself this question and then determined to rescue the gowns from oblivion with a new re-designing service. Harricana has been a success since Gagne begun the business in 1994. The group is billed as eco-luxe and focused on recycling fur coats into more fashionable jackets, blankets, hats and even laptop cases. Harricana exports its winter group to more than 20 countries, including the United States, Russia and Switzerland. With her Harricana brand becoming increasingly called for its fur designs, the move to bridal fashions was fairly a departure.

“I don’t want to be a designer that people associate merely with fur and winter. In my constant search for furs, I find wonderful things like marriage clothes and gorgeous fabrics,” she said. “I’m a total eco freak. I hate to throw something away, so ideally I would give a second life to all the amazing things I find.”

In addition to fur designs, Harricana has been producing a line of summer clothes and party tops made from colorful silk scarves.

“Customers can bring in their marriage costume or their grandmother’s costume, something bridal, and we perfectly transmute it. We have loads of second hand gowns that we can use to supplement the designs,” Gagné said, sifting through a rack of 1980s trend pouf marriage dresses.

The move from recycling furs to marriage clothes isn’t merely about spreading her brand’s influence; the shift also mirrors her personal path. “I was ever a tomboy, snowboarding and doing sports. As I’m growing older and raising my daughter Zoe, I want to become more feminine and complex. I actually delight being surrounded by all these furs of course, but marriage clothes are fairly exciting to work with, too.

Harricana has transformed bridal gowns into pieces like organza blouses with embellished collars and cuffs, reversible fur hats and even cute pearl studded pillows. “It’s tough to think this was made from pieces of a marriage dress,” Gagné said of a beige blazer with recycled bridal lace and mink trimmings.

Transforming bridal garb can be a pricey proposition. Gagne estimate that transforming your marriage costume into a blazer would lot you reverse about $600. Costs range from $50 to $300 for pillows and throws, and $500 to $2,000 for cocktail clothes, blouses and blazers.