Bridal Works

Kathleen Behrend

November 18–December 12, 2026

FASHION SHOW: Tuesday, October 27, 2026, 5:30–7pm (Regent Atrium)
OPENING RECEPTION: Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 4–7pm

 

In Bridal Works, vocational craftswoman Kathleen Behrend upcycles six wedding dresses into eight workwear outfits, exploring Christian metaphors of the Body of Christ, the Bride, and the Home while merging the sacred wedding day with the secular workday. This garment collection imagines clothing as a site of transformation, in which gestures of making and remaking evoke resurrection and the "now and not yet" of a new community.

Artist Statement

It all begins with a seed: the Body of Christ as the Bride building the Home. These three core metaphors for the Church unfold in creative possibility to form the backbone for theologically charged clothing.

What does it mean to upcycle a wedding dress into workwear?

This question becomes an abiding space for reflection, creativity and found theology throughout the building of this collection. Multiple ironies and tensions are at play: bringing a symbolically hyper-feminine dress into dialogue with traditional masculine workwear; using delicate fabrics to create durable and highly functional garments adorned with bridal techniques. The bridal fabrics are kept white, a colour generally avoided in trade uniforms.

This collection suggests a marrying of the sacred wedding and the secular workday. Furthermore, these garments point toward the eschaton. Six dresses – a number associated with humanity, nature struggling with spirit, and endless toil – are recycled into eight garments – a number signifying resurrection and the eschatological day of New Creation. The biblical Bride is draped with the white garments of the Bridegroom, although she is dressed for work in the “now and not yet” of our current day. The garments, as embodied by diverse models on the runway, suggest the building of a new community – a new Home.


About the Artist

Kathleen Behrend describes herself as a vocational craftswoman. Behrend's interest in clothing design began at an early age when her mother taught her to sew. This led to a pursuit of formal training at VCAD, where she graduated in 2014, with a diploma in fashion design. Behrend went on to establish her eponymous international bridal business – creating bespoke wedding gowns for brides from Canada to New Zealand. Behrend also works as a seamstress in the costume department of the film industry where projects such as The Abandons have expanded her skills to include Indigenous handworks such as quillwork and beadwork.

Beyond fashion, Behrend is also an acrylic and watercolour painter, focusing on studies of nature that capture her imagination. Her artworks have been featured in cafes in Vancouver and Calgary. Behrend's publications include her first book, Seeking Solo, and academic essays for Transpositions and the Regent Vine.