Fashion Museum displays Lincolnshire designer’s wedding dress made of old newspaper

A Lincolnshire designer has earned a prestigious spot at an exhibition inside the Fashion Museum with her unique wedding gown made from 40-year-old newspapers.

Sanyukta Shrestha from Hagworthingham, a pioneering sustainable fashion designer, first made history in 2012 when she became the first designer of Nepali origin to be documented in the history of the Fashion Museum in Bath.

Her sustainable ‘Pippa gown’ wedding dress is the only item inside the museum identified as being made in Nepal, and it is amongst over 100,000 objects in the Fashion Museum collection – alongside leading designers such as Christian Dior and Vivian Westwood.

Sanyukta’s dress has been preserved at the Fashion Museum for 10 years now. | Photo: Fashion Museum Bath

The newspaper design was aided by organic cotton and 3000 Swarovksi crystals. | Photo: Ben Photography

The dress is recognised by the media as “the dawn of the sustainable movement”, as well as “the Greta [Thunberg] of the Wedding World”, thanks to its eco-friendly and poignant design.

It was handcrafted from 40-year-old newspapers found under the floorboards, aided by Nepalese hand-loomed organic cotton, and the small matter of 3000 Swarovski crystals that took nearly two months to finish.

Made from newspaper cuts from 1981 and 1982. | Photo: Sanyukta Shrestha

The design is pioneering a new way of thinking in the fashion world. | Photo: Sanyukta Shrestha

To mark the 10th anniversary of Sanyukta’s sustainable couture dress being preserved at the museum, her work has also been chosen as one of the 10 curated unique displays at a new exhibition at the Fashion Museum.

On display until October 30, the You Choose exhibition will see Sanyukta’s gown placed alongside work from the likes of Kenzo, Gareth Pugh and Jean Paul Gaultier – as well as historic treasures such as a 1750s man’s worsted will banyan, and an 1881 beetle wing embroidered day dress.

The You Choose exhibition was co-curated by local school children and the Fashion Museum. | Photo: Fashion Museum Bath

A truly magnificent piece of innovation in the ever-evolving fashion industry. | Photo: Fashion Museum Bath

The Lincolnshire designer’s dress caught the eye of junior school children, who co-curated with the museum for the exhibition. They chose the dress because it inspires “a future in which people and nature thrive together”.

The exhibition curator Fleur Johnson said: “We are thrilled that children from Oldfield Park Junior School in Bath have chosen Sanyukta Shrestha’s Pippa gown as their pick for the You Choose exhibition.

“The story of Sanyukta discovering the newspapers under the floorboards of her home and upcycling them into an elegant wedding gown resonates with current concerns around the sustainability of the fashion industry.

“The Pippa wedding gown has decades of stories literally printed into its folds and pleats and is a timeless example of how designers are finding creative new ways to source and use materials to create more ethical and eco-friendly clothing.”