The Vagabond Bridal brand was founded in 2017, and the debut collection launched in 2018 with great success around the Globe. Vagabond’s designer, Valery Zelenyuk, who lives in Cape Town with her husband and son, aims to embody the contemporary, strong and free-spirited woman that is becoming the pioneering female archetype in modern society.
The Vagabond bride wants to look beautiful but not at the expense of comfort and wearability, she doesn’t need to be afraid to look and feel strong, yet feminine in her wedding gown. Brides can expect strong, feminine and statement pieces, with an outstanding fit. Each gown has an underlying timelessness in its silhouette, structure and fabric, the brand prides themselves on quality – each piece made individually by hand .
Vagabond's collections will suit all contemporary tastes, including some classics with clean lines, bohemian gowns with textured lace and romantic shapes, as well as some daring rock n roll numbers.
The brand is a 100% female owned business, and have 100% a female team - Their business focuses strongly on female economic empowerment, ethical production practices and providing a balanced working environment for women in modern economic times.
Vagabond is part of the slow fashion movement and practice minimal waste production methods. They manufacture each gown individually, and only on order, so have zero product waste, and a high degree of reusability, as their product is made to the highest quality - The brand encourages brides who are interested to resell their gowns so they can be enjoyed by more than one end user. Vagabond only use eco silks, do not use any animal products, and are constantly focused on minimizing environmental impact of packaging materials.
The South African brand makes all their gowns individually by hand in their studio in Ukraine – Valery told us "we have our own full spectrum in house team and do not outsource any workmanship. The gowns are made by skilled artisans with over two centuries of craft experience combined, and we are very proud to offer a very high quality, bespoke demi-couture product. We use traditional pattern making techniques, all developed by hand and individually tested. Nothing is automated or mass produced".
This gorgeous halter neck gown, Harper is from the Liberty 2019 collection.
Sneak peak into Vagabond's latest collection. The Cyrus Lace gown from the Babylonia 2020 collection is made of a multi-layered tulle skirt covered in an ethereal leaf embroided lace. The full collection coming soon to TDT and a retailer near you.
We loved hearing about your brand but also want to hear about the impact Covid 19 is having on your business
Regarding the current situation on COVID 19 and the way if has affectus us – we have had to remobilise our entire task force, starting from our suppliers worldwide, to our production team who is still operational on a skeleton staff level to make sure all our brides receive their gowns on time, and ending with our management an logistics teams having to completely regroup the way we operate and distribute. The impact has been massive to say the least. One of the biggest disappointments was having to cancel our New York Fashion Week Collection launch in April, and we are now presented with the conundrum of coming up with a virtual solution for the new collection launch, as I am sure all other designers are.
Our hearts are with all the brides and grooms who have had to postpone their weddings – I can only imagine the disappointment of such a reality. We really hope that the world heals from this as soon as possible, and everyone looks to the future with positivity and faith that we will come out of this on the other side stronger, more resilient and softer toward one another. I am very hopeful that despite the tragedy of the current situation, the human race makes space for more love in their hearts, and that this is ultimately a unifying event for humanity. So to all the brides – hang in there, keep planning and this too shall pass!
Discover more about Vagabond on TDT and find out where you can try on (soon!) their amazing gowns.
