Spanish luxury bridal brand, Pronovias, is encouraging its brides to wear their wedding gowns again and again and has launched the 'Second Life' initiative, which will give bridal dresses a new look with its free new alteration service.

The wedding industry has often been chastised for not adopting more environmentally friendly practices, and Pronovias' 'Second Life' initiative aims to change that. The goal of the effort is to encourage brides to wear their bridal gowns more often and for them to last longer, as well as to allow them to alter their gowns into different designs after their wedding.

Amandine Ohayon, Pronovias Group chief executive, said that bridal couture is not exactly recognized for its circularity. 'Second Life' is a move in the right direction, urging the industry to improve its environmental standards. This is crucial for the future of our industry and the legacy they wish to leave.

The Pronovias 'Second Life' initiative debuts with a "carefully selected" selection of 70 bridal gowns from the Pronovias and Nicole Milano brands, designed by Pronovias Group’s chief artistic officer Alessandra Rinaudo. These gowns can be altered into a different style for free, allowing brides to "fall in love with their dress again after the wedding is over.

Brides will be able to convert their gowns into special occasion dresses by shortening them, removing the sleeves, and adding belts, straps, sashes, and other elements to create a new appearance, all at no cost.

While the program started with approximately 70 gowns, Pronovias says that the number of dresses that will be able to be granted a 'Second Life' will grow with each new bridal collection the brand releases.

All Pronovias flagship stores, including those in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, and Poland, will provide the service.

Rinaudo added that this is a very significant initiative because what they're doing is providing a fresh chance to garments that are normally only worn once. It makes him extremely happy to see a dress that they crafted with so much love and commitment continuing to be a part of a woman's wardrobe. Furthermore, they’re all aware of the need for environmental protection. This is just a first step, but it's part of their larger goal of making their industry more sustainable.

To give their bridal gown a second life, the bride simply needs to return it to her Pronovias flagship shop, where it will be transformed at no additional cost into a dress she can wear to a party or her wedding.

The 'Second Life' designs are inspired by four different styles: romantic, bohemian, elegant, and party, with Pronovias' bridal advisors assisting women in visualizing how their dress would look with the adjustments.

The effort is part of the Pronovias Group's plan to bring bridal up to speed with the rest of the fashion industry in terms of sustainability and circularity. Other projects include the #WeDoEco sustainable dress collection, which is made with 100% ecological fabrics and materials and is sometimes locally manufactured to reduce carbon footprint, and its collaboration with Recovo, a platform that promotes surplus fabric recycling to reduce environmental impact and textile waste.