Putting in the (Re)Work
Small labels make upcycled clothes that look much cooler having gone through the wringer.
Hello, hello. The words “upcycled” and “reworked” tend to put me on guard when it comes to fashion, as the aughts and twentyteens’ versions of repurposed/reused garments tended toward the facile or forgettable—think tie-dyed Adidas logo sweatshirts, Modcloth-esque A-line skirts hewn from Star Wars bedsheets, t-shirts cut into fringe and beaded at the hems in preparation for FYF Fest (if you know, I’m sorry). I preferred to be conscientious with my shopping by favoring resale and small businesses rather than exploring the world of upcycled garments.
The below shops and designers have made me see things differently—the past life of the garment or fabric plays an integral role in the dimension of the piece, giving it poignance, pre-loading it with significance. Whether it’s the material itself, its texture and idiosyncrasies, or the palimpsest of the piece’s past forms, reworked clothing has the potential to be the most interesting/thought-provoking/conversation-starting in your wardrobe, beyond the ethical boons of circular fashion.
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Janelle Abbott is the master of upcycling, in my eyes. Her zero-waste pieces, like the pants above and the matching extra-cropped tees (that also come in sets with skirts) use every piece of old t-shirts, but don’t try too hard to make something that doesn’t betray its origins: loose threads, rippling fabric, and distressing is all intended as part of each piece, a gift to people like me who get neurotic about owning pristine garments for fear of sullying their “purity.” Instead of trying to make old materials look new, Janelle allows them to look their age, but displays them in such interesting ways they don’t look tired or worn-out—I’d never seen strips of fabric used as a design element like they are in her work, even in the realm of brand-new garments.
I had to include the above trousers, also from Janelle Rabbott, because they make my stomach turn in such a way as used to polka dots and neon colors, both of which I have since succumbed to. I am against camo print on principal, but something about how absolutely freaked these trousers are makes me able to at least laugh at it in this context. I would not buy this particular pair of pants, but there’s much to consider here.
Random Clichés is a weirdo brand from Shanghai that makes experimental home goods and a bunch of stuff that my eyes can’t quite comprehend. For its seven-year anniversary, RC made a bunch of bags for one of my favorite shops, Bungee Space, out of “nylon-plastic-rope carpets” used in a previous exhibition. They’re all different sizes, colors, and designs—this one looks like clouds in the sky—but they all feel piñata-adjacent (though all under $150, as opposed to Collina’s $500 piñata purse), very festive and summery. I would love one. I really like accessories made out of non-cloth materials—though the frine would probably be a bummer to clean, I’ll bet this bag feels sturdy.
I admire the people who wear doll head earrings or, like, gigantic baby bottles (looking at you, Sara Camposarcone), but I’ve never felt drawn to wearing toys until I saw this low-slung belt with a great name. It must be heavy as hell, and I have no idea how it stays up, but it brings the Shounen energy I crave to an otherwise prim skirt set. I’ve noticed a lot of little cars popping up in accessories recently, the accessory monolith Marland Backus has them on hairpins, earrings, and a necklace, though I don’t believe they’re upcycled:
The above shirt is by “Cold F33t,” and isn’t my favorite thing they’ve ever made, but is the only thing in stock right now—what I appreciate about their work is that their commitment to abstraction doesn’t completely overrule their sense of what looks cool. Each piece has angsty, crust punk energy while remaining well-considered enough not to feel like a Spirit Halloween “Crust Punk” costume.
Love this Argentine brand, Brindis, and love the patchwork jackets someone with an excellent eye for pattern mis/matching designed. My only gripe—the body fits me PERFECTLY but the sleeves were like half a foot too long, and when I got them tailored, the result was extremely wide arms that I don’t love on this style of jacket. Here I am in it:
Can the arms be tailored tighter? Should I just get over it? I don’t know why, but wide sleeves give me an ick.
Chapman Newnum takes regular (good quality) t-shirts and turns them into something Yohji- or Comme-worthy. I love the dual deep Vs on the front and back of this top, and I love that something so sculptural is guaranteed to be comfortable thanks to its provenance.
I tried to figure out how to wear ties last year, and failed miserably (if anyone has any ideas, the comments floor is yours). This upcycled tie is small enough to avoid the trap I fell into, looking like Daddy’s Little Boy playing dress-up, and its Janusian double tips both recall the tails of a bow and the split tongue of a snake, balancing cuteness and aggression perfectly. The brand, “I Feel Like Bambi,” is tiny, and makes ties that conjoin with magnets, have burn-like holes, and criss-cross depending on your semiotic, tie-centric needs.
This hoodie feels like what an Avril Lavigne-type would wear in a music video in which they played a contemporary twist on a young, angsty Medieval page in a homoerotic relationship with their moody prince. Sometimes, I just let my mind do whatever it wants and then I splay its meaningless products across a blog post and this is what happens.
I love Rosie Evans, always, and I especially love the idea of belts with belt loops from which to hang charms. Even just hanging stuff from your bottoms’ belt loops might be cool. Would it be really cringe if I started decorating my jeans with anime keychains? My keys are tired of jangling around with Maki and Power.
Fuck Chanel, but sometimes I like its tweeds, so this is a nice back door to nab that aesthetic without having do deal with the Devil.
This isn’t for sale, but I thought this patched-up plastic bag looked cool, and I had the thought: what if someone made a bag by simply patching up a plastic bag every time it ripped until here was no bag left, just thread? Would that have structural integrity? Science side of HR, please let me know below. I think it’d look cool.
Hope you’re having a good week so far, see you again soon!
<3 HR
the arms can definitely be made tighter! as long as you don’t need to change anything about the shoulder fit, most things that are far away from the torso (like your voluminous sleeves) should be pretty straightforward fixes (speaking as someone who sews but is def not a professional tailor)