Waste is out, upcycling is in. At least, that’s the message we’re getting from some of the most fashionable (or should we say trashionable) designers in the world. An unlikely yet beautiful mix of ‘trash’ and ‘fashion’ (in case you hadn’t guessed) the transhionable fashion movement has been shaping the designscape since it started appearing on the scene back in 2004.
In Britain, roughly 235 million garments of clothing end up in landfill during the spring cleaning season alone. That’s why it’s great to see big-name designers and artists actively supporting the trashion movement by upcycling all kinds of ‘trash’; signalling the wise words of upcycling Godfather Rainer Platz, creating more value out of them — not less.
Here are 7 brands and designers that are turning waste into fashion and turning heads in the process. Their classy and sophisticated designs clearly show that upcycling doesn’t mean downscaling.
KaCaMa
KaCaMa is a Hong-Kong based design lab featuring product designers who specialise in reusing post-consumer waste materials. Eco-awareness and aesthetic beauty are integral to the brand. The picture above is part of the ‘Living Pixels’ collection, which upcycles advertising banners by cutting them into small pieces and combining them together. Each light shade is specific to its stand, which means every piece is completely unique.
Pentatonic
Pentatonic believe all the materials we need are already in circulation. Their mission statement says it all — ‘We’ve made it our mission to not only recycle and reincarnate the materials we use, but to ensure that each new life we give to those materials is better than the last’. They craft chairs, tables, glassware, home & fashion accessories, but ‘refuse to make any concessions’ when it comes to aesthetic. Believe it or not, the ring pictured above is made out of cigarette butts!
Anekdot
Anekdot are an underwear company that hand-craft garments in Berlin to the highest quality and least wastage. They declare themselves proudly ‘an upcycle brand’ — rightly explaining that ‘this does not mean that you’ll be wearing someone else’s underwear. It means that we source our materials from production leftovers, end of lines, off-cuts, deadstock and vintage trimmings’.
Kelly Gijsen
Kelly Gijsen, in collaboration with Graviky Labs, patterned a collection of cotton scarves with ink made from the ultimate waste product: carbon air pollution. The scarves themselves are made from 100 per-cent organic cotton and are available in a selection of natural-dyed colours.
Studio Swine
Studio Swine is a collaboration between Japanese architect Azusa Murakami and British artist Alexander Groves. Studio Swine designs explore themes of regional identity and the future of resources in the context of globalisation. A short film they created demonstrates how waste plastic picked up by fishing trawlers in the ocean can be transformed into chairs on board the boats.
Adding to their impressive upcycling credentials, Studio Swine have also created a collection which uses strands of human hair to craft high-end jewellery boxes, mirror frames and combs, inspired by 1920’s Shanghai art-deco and Qing dynasty aesthetics.
Elvis & Kresse
Decommissioned fire hoses, boat sails, Air Traffic Control flight strips, coffee sacks, cardboard and parachutes are all upcycled into bags, belts and accessories by this innovative (and hugely transhionable!) brand.
Vivienne Westwood | Handmade With Love
Vivienne Westwood, British fashion designer of modern punk and new wave, is also known for her activism — she’s long been an advocate and leading figure within eco-fashion. One of her most significant trashion moments came from her partnership with Ethical Fashion Initiative, who’re on a mission to build a responsible fashion industry. Westwood developed her ‘Handmade With Love’ collection out of entirely upcycled materials like rejected canvas, old roadside banners, brass and unused leather cut-offs.
These brands are innovators. They’re driving a journey which could eventually lead to a drastic overhaul of the designscape — from throwaway culture to a mindset which embraces upcycling.
More importantly, they’re showing us all that upcycling can be fashionable. If you’re inspired, there are endless opportunities to take discarded items and turn them into something exciting.
Originally published at sugru.com.
