Wedding dresses with a little more heart

Lori Del Genis at work on one of her gowns (Picture: Evening Chronicle)

As part of April magazine's wedding special, we met Lori Del Genis, former healthcare worker and now creator of luscious, organically sourced bridalwear. Based from her home in Durham, Lori designs and creates each bespoke wedding, bridesmaid or christening gown herself. Winner of the Environmental Business of the Year Award in 2007, she uses a mixture of organic hemp and silk.

When did you get the idea for Conscious Elegance? Two and a half years ago. I was working as a nurse, but I’d been sewing for years, making bridal gear for my friends as gifts. So many people said I should do it as a business.

How did you start it up? I started researching fabric, and I saw a lot of the bad stuff. Terrible practices; I saw how low paid people were in the garment industry, and how there’s an awful lot of injustice and cruelty. So I decided I was only going to work with ethical companies.

Why do you use organic materials? That came about because we had a baby. Whenever you’re sewing, threads get everywhere. I decided to work with organic fabrics, without chemical treatment or pesticides, because my baby would put the threads in her mouth and eat them. And in fact, babies love the feel of the clothes too; they’re so soft.

Tell us about your unique christening dress service What I do is reuse the wedding dresses to make christening gowns. That came from the very start. It’s not that a wedding dress is not important, but this isn’t about throwing things away. People like the reuse ethic.

How do customers respond to your dresses? People want things made for them. They’re maybe a particular size, or they don’t want to trail from shop to shop. And they love the fact that its ethical but its not a sackcloth. They want to look beautiful.

Check out www.consciouselegance.co.uk