by Gigi Bors-Koefoed
Maggie Sottero bridal gowns have been a staple in the wedding industry for two decades. Originating in Australia, this esteemed bridal fashion brand is renowned for its exquisite attention to detail, intricate lace, delicate tulle, and creative details. With a commitment to providing personalized designs, Maggie Sottero ensures that each bride creates her ideal gown. Looking toward the future, the brand proudly introduces new designers Mark and Chris Russell, alongside a sustainability initiative spearheaded by former Maggie Sottero designer Patricia DeLauany, now serving as the Global Sustainability Director. Collaborating with lead designer Edric Woo, the Maggie Sottero team delves into the creative inspirations driving their collections and offers a sneak peek into the exciting evolution of the renowned brand.
Mark & Chris Russell, Designers
SB: Congratulations on joining the Maggie Sottero team. What attracted you to this particular design house?
What attracted us to Maggie Sottero is their unwavering commitment to turning bridal dreams into reality. Their mission goes beyond just creating dresses; they see each gown as a tangible expression of love stories and individuality.
Additionally, it is inspiring to design alongside Edric Woo. His lifelong passion for fashion design, coupled with his extensive experience in the bridal industry, ensures that each gown is crafted with impeccable attention to detail and reflects the latest trends in bridal fashion.
Overall, the combination of a passionate team, premium quality, and a commitment to celebrating love in all its forms drew us to Maggie.
SB: How do you plan on contributing to the already established bridal brand?
Drawing from our own experiences and inspirations, we aim to bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to the design process while respecting and honoring the brand’s rich legacy and values.
SB: What are key concepts to keep in mind when shopping for a wedding dress?
Understanding your personal style and envisioning the overall aesthetic you desire for your wedding day sets the foundation for the dress selection process. Whether you gravitate towards classic elegance, modern sophistication, or bohemian romance, having a clear vision helps narrow down
options. Additionally, considering the venue and theme of your wedding can provide valuable direction in terms of silhouette, fabric, and embellishments that will complement the overall atmosphere.
SB: Where do you draw inspiration from after two decades in bridal design?
We love to study fashion and decorative arts, and we often look to historical references when creating new styles. From the Modernism of the 20th Century to reaching as far back as Classical Antiquity, we draw inspiration from the most Elegant Shapes and Design Elements of each era.
SB: How do you stay updated on current bridal trends while maintaining your unique aesthetic?
We don’t necessarily follow trends; instead, we trust our own aesthetics and instincts to create what we would like to see next.
SB: Can you describe the signature style or design elements that are present in your collections?
Starting with the balance of pure lines and perfect proportions, we combine the design elements that inspire us from each era in new and unique ways each season. Using innovative patternmaking and draping techniques, precise seam placement, and our signature lace placement, we pay particular
attention to each detail to ensure that our creations contour, elongate, and enhance each Bride’s unique features.
SB: It seems the sleeveless dresses reign supreme, why do you think so many brides find that style so appealing?
Sleeveless designs offer a sense of versatility and modernity that resonates with contemporary brides. They provide a sleek and streamlined silhouette that accentuates the natural curves of the body, creating a flattering and elegant look that never goes out of style.
Edric Woo, Lead Designer
SB: How does Maggie Sottero maintain a strong connection with brides amidst the numerous bridal fashion houses in the industry?
Maggie designs with all brides in mind, no matter their style, budget, identification, budget, size, timeline, or wedding vision. Maggie Sottero’s commitment to embracing the diversity of brides has been a cornerstone of its enduring success in maintaining strong connections with brides season
after season.
SB: What can we look forward to in 2025 from M.S.?
In 2025, you can anticipate seeing a continued emphasis on luxurious fabrics, intricate detailing, and impeccable craftsmanship, which are hallmarks of Maggie Sottero gowns. Do you have any advice for the brides in search of the perfect dress? One of the most invaluable pieces of advice for brides is to approach the dress-shopping experience with an open mind. Explore a variety of silhouettes, colors, and styles during your fittings, as you may find that something unexpected truly captivates you! Don’t hesitate to lean on your stylist’s expertise— they’re trained to guide you toward options that complement both your body type and personal style, ensuring you feel absolutely radiant.
Patricia DeLaunay, Global Sustainability Director
SB: What spearheaded the change in your role at M.S. from designer to the first Global Sustainability Director/Designer?
Kelly Midgley and I started a conversation about sustainable design some years ago when she was V.P. of Design. When she became C.E.O. in 2020, that conversation accelerated, expanding into a vision for company-wide sustainability efforts!
SB: How does your bridal company integrate sustainability into its operations and products?
We’re implementing systems change throughout our organization, embedding sustainability as a core value for every team supporting a more sustainable wedding industry. We are working as quickly as we can to reduce our environmental impact, taking action in three key areas: Waste Reduction, Resource Consumption, and Protecting Biodiversity.
SB: What sustainable practices or initiatives has your company implemented?
We’re working on waste reduction—recycling as much as we can, as efficiently as we can, from bulk shipping waste to diverting stock from landfills and incineration. We are rethinking resource consumption by supporting renewable power projects, reducing our product impact, and investing in a circular supply chain; we’re working to become a more regenerative brand. And we’re dedicated to protecting biodiversity, which our team is very passionate about. We support global reforestation and conservation initiatives near our Scope 1 facilities, such as our partnership with One Tree Planted
and volunteer work with the International Bird Rescue/Conservation Action Program. These examples only begin to illustrate Maggie’s sustainability initiatives. We encourage visitors to explore our website to gain a comprehensive understanding of the breadth and depth of all our efforts.
SB: What steps do you take to ensure ethical sourcing of materials for your bridal gowns and accessories?
We are increasing our use of lower-impact materials with certifications like the Global Recycled Standard (GRS). The GRS sets the criteria for third-party certification of recycled materials and chain of custody. The GRS includes a higher (50%) minimum recycled content percentage and additional social and environmental requirements for processing and chemical use. This is one reason these materials are more expensive than conventional (virgin) polyester.
SB: How do you minimize waste in your production process?
One of the ways we’re addressing waste is by decreasing fabric consumption and reducing layers without compromising the fit and quality of our gowns. We’re also editing our colorway offerings to minimize fabric waste at the sample stage further. Using recycled-content materials is another
effective waste reduction effort, and techniques like yarn dyeing can reduce water and energy use. Our partnership with SuperCircle is a milestone in our waste reduction efforts and is an investment in decreasing garment waste via textile-to-textile recycling. We’re also transitioning to post-consumer
recycled content shipping supplies, including boxes and bags.
SB: Are your bridal collections made with environmentally friendly materials?
Several gowns from the Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 collections are crafted using outer-shell materials with a lower environmental impact, and most of our legacy gowns in Ivory are transitioning to recycled linings! We’re classifying our lower-impact fabrics based on whether they are made from recycled polyester or yarn-dyed textiles (which can be a more resource-efficient method.)
Inspired by Textile Exchange’s Recycled Polyester Challenge, we’ve worked to increase our use of recycled materials. Recycled polyester reduces overall pressure on virgin materials and the use of non-renewable resources like crude oil (Source: Waste & Resources Action Program—wrap.org.uk).
Our recycled polyester is derived from post-consumer PET waste products (primarily post-consumer plastic bottles). At the same time, our partnership with SuperCircle is an investment in the next phase of textile-to-textile recycling.
SB: How do you balance the desire for luxury and elegance with sustainability in your designs?
“Balance” is indeed the right word; it’s so important for us to embrace next-gen materials (and they’re becoming more beautiful and luxurious every season!), but we must balance that while maintaining our fabric performance standards. How does that fabric look, feel, drape, handle seaming, etc.? Our lower-impact fabrics have been tested not only in our studio during multiple fittings but also at development events in stores so that we feel confident in bringing these gowns to market and to our brides.
SB: Can you discuss any partnerships or collaborations your company has engaged in to promote sustainability in the bridal industry?
Maggie Sottero is the first bridal brand to join forces with SuperCircle on textile recycling! It’s one of the ways our team is working to create a more sustainable wedding industry, upholding “Our Heart” promise to support a circular supply system, recycling, and waste reduction in bridalwear.
SuperCircle is a technology and reverse logistics platform addressing the challenges of garment recycling in the fashion industry. This partnership represents a major milestone for Maggie Sottero as we work to become a more regenerative brand. We have ongoing donation partnerships with
design schools and community groups. However, our collaboration with SuperCircle is a tremendous step forward in our effort to keep 100% of our excess inventory out of landfills. We believe circularity is critical to environmental sustainability, and we’re honored to support SuperCircle in its mission to create a world where no textiles are wasted.
Maggie Sottero has embarked on an exciting sustainable design journey as a mentor for the fashion students at Otis College of Art and Design for the 2023-2024 school year! This partnership brings together the industry expertise of Kelly Midgley, our CEO/Creative Director, Edric Woo, Lead
Designer, and me (an Otis College ’04 BFA Fashion Design alumna.) We teamed up with the talented juniors and seniors at Otis Fashion for an upcycled design project that revolves around the shared value of sustainability. Maggie has donated discontinued gowns for the project; for our design direction, we asked the students to consider re-wearability, keeping fabric waste to a minimum, and taking inspiration from forms in nature to create bridal fashion for brides and their wedding parties. Stay tuned for May 2024 to see the final creations!
In partnership with One Tree Planted, we’re planting a tree in honor of every Maggie bride, with per- gown donations directed to regional projects around the world. Our first projects in Costa Rica (known as a crown jewel of biodiversity) support the recovery of endangered tree species and the
creation of an elevational corridor to help species (like sloths, birds, frogs, and spider monkeys) to migrate and survive into future climates. We’ve also donated trees for planting in Maggie’s birthplace, Australia (another of the world’s high-biodiversity treasures), which provides habitat for the iconic Australian koala. A vulnerable, threatened species in general, the koalas in New South Wales are especially vulnerable after recent devastating fires and drought. These tree plantings are a heartfelt gesture to our Maggie brides and an impactful biodiversity protection effort. Together, we’re not just planting trees; we’re planting the equivalent of a forest on a global scale.
SB: What measures do you take to reduce the carbon footprint associated with shipping and packaging your products?
Maggie Sottero is recycling everything possible as efficiently as we can, including cardboard and plastic shipping supplies. In the U.S., we’re collaborating with Rocky Mountain Recycling, where over 3000 pounds of plastic shipping waste (and counting) has been sorted and recycled at our Utah
warehouse. Our U.K. team has reached close to 100% recycling, including packaging waste.
But we’re not just recycling; we’re also using recycled resources wherever we can, like packaging, shipping boxes, paper, etc. For example, we’re transitioning to post-consumer recycled content shipping boxes in all our warehouses—so when you put cardboard boxes and packaging in your curbside recycling bins, some of that is being used to create our shipping boxes!
