A bridal shop has delivered one last kind act amid its shock closure.
Oleg Cassini, a designer wedding dress brand, sadly closed their doors in Australia back in February.
The company, with overseas stores across Turkey, had showrooms in both Melbourne and Sydney prior to the closure.
A spokesperson for the Australian branch said that they came to the tough decision to shut down after struggling during the pandemic.
“It was a very tough decision and we have an amazing team that we had to make redundant, and we had to exit our leases,” the spokesperson told news.com.au.
“We put so much heart and soul and work into building a business in Australia.”
However, as a parting gift to soon-to-be brides, Oleg Cassini has donated 80 brand new wedding dresses to Vinnies.
Waverly Vinnies in Sydney’s East will be hosting a bridal expo on October 27 after receiving the generous donation.
Vinnies Acting Regional Manager Gemma Presely said that the recommended retail price on the dresses range between $1700 all the way up to $4500.
However, eager brides will be able to pick up a brand new dress for as low as $300.
“In the current economy, weddings are an expensive day to many. This is a really great way for people to keep the cost down of their wedding,” Ms Presely told news.com.au.
In addition to the 80 donated dresses – which include Oleg Cassini and some Viola Chan – there will be around 100 preloved dresses starting at $50.
The spokesperson for Oleg Cassini spoke to the business’s values when asked why they decided to donate the dresses rather than include them in their closing down sale.
“The whole purpose of the business had been affordable dresses, and so the fact that we were able to create an even more affordable option for brides to in New South Wales was quite appealing,” the spokesperson said.
Speaking to news.com.au, Ms Presely described the moment the team unboxed the stunning dresses.
“When we had a look through the boxes and realised how beautiful these dresses were … very, very blessed to receive a donation like that,” she said.
“It’s important that we honour the donor and honour their decision to donate these goods to us.”
She added that while Vinnies have received donated wedding dresses in the past, there might only be a small number in each location.
“When a bride or bride to be is going shopping, she might go to one Vinnies store and there’ll be five wedding dresses there that’s not suitable, and then on to the next store,” she said.
Now, the dresses will all be sent to the one location so brides-to-be will have a larger selection of dresses to choose from for their special day.
Bridesmaid dresses, accessories, shoes, and suits will also be available at the expo.
Additionally, all profits from the dresses will go towards charity
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Ms Presely also put forth a call out to anyone considering donating their own wedding dresses.
“If they’ve read about this and think it’s a great initiative, and they’ve got a wedding dress sitting in a box in their cupboard they’d like to donate, then they can donate it between now and then to any Vinnies store and we’ll make sure that it’s at Waverly for the 27th to be a part of this special event,” she said.
The expo will open at 9.30am on Friday October 27 and will continue seven days a week while stocks last.
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