Sustainability has been a big buzzword the past few years; in the world of fashion, reworked and upcycled clothing are another of its many manifestations
For years now, environmental activists have been pointing their fingers towards the fashion industry as a major contributor to pollution and waste. But while it's easy to spew about the usual call to actions necessary to stop—or at least decrease—the impacts of fast fashion, it's a whole different story when it comes to putting those into action.
Fortunately, many young designers, particularly independent ones, seem to have found a new way to reinvent their designs with old material. The answer, to them, is in reworking. The concept behind this method is fairly straightforward. Designers take old pieces of clothing (the word "vintage" has been tossed around a lot here), and redesigning it to create a whole new piece. This could mean cutting it up or adding new elements to it, but at the end of the day, it's all about changing the design to create a distinctly original piece from items that would otherwise go on hiding at the back of your closet.
Reworking Locally And Internationally
A couple of years ago, streetwear blog, Highsnobiety set its sights on Studio ALCH, lauding them for their ingenious reinvention of pieces from Nike and adidas. Have no doubt, these clothes were still recognisably from Nike and adidas—ostensibly still sporting the respective emblems of checks and stripes—but they were also done so uniquely by Studio ALCH that everyone just knew: this was an original creation, at least in its own way.