Upcycling in 2019

Photo: bodenewyork.com

If y’all couldn’t tell, upcycling was all the rage this past year. From high end, like Emily Bode, to repurposing, like Needles, reworking used pieces into new items was a massive trend for this past year.

Sustainability has been more and more of a topic of discussion within fashion and brands are starting to take notice. Industry giants like Adidas and Nike are taking steps to become more sustainable and weave those sort of practices into their businesses, but there is a huge increase in startups that hold sustainability at their core.

Now, this is by no means an article about sustainability, but I do believe sustainability has influenced this trend. Although some companies and brands are slow to catch on, individuals are taking more responsibility in their purchases and decisions.

One way this is happening is thrifting and buying used. According to a report done by thredUP, 77% of millennials prefer to buy clothing from responsible and eco-friendly brands. Since the technology for some of these products is so new, these options tend to be a bit pricier. A cheaper means for buying with a conscious is thrifting.

Millennials are turning more towards second hand clothing and with this comes the boom in upcycling. In a nutshell, upcycling is taking old or worn out clothes and turning them into something new. Upcycling can also mean taking an older pieces and simply just fixing the minor flaws in it, whether it is a rip or loose seam.

Patagonia is a highly sustainable brand at the moment as they take many steps to reduce their carbon footprint. One way they do this is by using recycled fabrics in their new products. They estimate that over 50% of their fabrics are from post-secondary waste. They also upcycle old products with their Worn Wear line. This line takes used Patagonia products, patches them up, fixes them, and then resells them. This is far more sustainable than just throwing old products away.

Another brand that has been using upcycled products for a long time is Needles. Needles sources vintage flannels and turns them into their famous patched flannels comprised of strips of many different vintage shirts.

Photos: END. Clothing

A new growing name in upcycling is Emily Bode. Bode takes vintage quilts and fabrics and turns them into beautifully crafted shirts, jackets, and pants. Bode’s brand is focused on menswear, but can quite frankly be worn by anyone.

Bode’s business was only started a few years ago, in 2016, but the business boomed in 2019. Earlier in June, she was named the Emerging Designer of the year at the CDFA Awards. She has seen tremendous success.

For those of us who are touched by the nostalgic feel of her repurposed quilts can can’t afford the luxury price, homemade pieces are a personal and creative way to DIY.

My friends and I often go thrifting and head to Salvation Army (on half price Wednesdays) to find sick vintage pieces. Sometimes we find a great piece but it doesn’t fit quite right or there is a stain or some other default. This is where we can get creative. We often upcycle great pieces and turn them into a brand new one of one piece made just for us.

One brand that works solely with vintage pieces is Bandulu. Bandulu was founded and is currently ran by artist, Pat Peltier. Pat is a trained painter turned designer. His products are vintage Nike and Champion pieces that he hand embroiders "paint drip" patterns onto them. The new products then look like there is paint splatter on them, when in reality, it is all hand stitching.

Photos: bandu.lu

Personally, I have taken old flannels and hoodies and cut and sewed them to make a mix of the two. I also love working with old denim. My good friend took some scraps of different denim from old pairs and sewed them onto a new pair he had to make a patchy, one of a kind piece.

One project that I worked on recently was sewing on a bunch of fabric scraps onto a pair of Chucks. I had a ton of different scraps from previous projects that I didn’t know what to do with, so I thought it best to do a custom Chuck.

Customization is of course hugely popular right now as everyone wants something that nobody else has. Personally, I was inspired by Emily Bode and the patchwork trend, so I decided to do a little patchwork customization project myself.

As the climate crisis heightens, customers are more willing to buy from responsible and ethical brands. And when brands are not taking notice of this, customers have turned to thrift and vintage. Fashion right now is at a critical point and companies need to start making a difference.