Wonderland.

(RE)CREATE

Don’t you dare throw away those old jeans! Up-cycling is the new re-cycling, says Who’s Next and Premiere Classe.

Last weekend saw mega-trade show Who’s Next, in collaboration with Premiere Classe, invite seven young, talented designers to get involved with their fascinating up-cycle project, (RE)CREATE. Matching with the theme of the trade show, the designers – all mediterranean – were inspired by their home towns, think: breezy beaches, salty sea and gorgeous hues of blue. The challenge saw the designers take a trip to the Eureka Fripe stock warehouse in Rouen, where they were given free reign to the massive sea of goodies, like a bunch of kids in a candy store. Using whatever materials that tickled their fancy from the warehouse, the designers were then tasked with up-cycling them to create a mini collection of 20 limited edition pieces. Project Runway eat your heart out!

The designers had endless options, as the giant warehouse holds around 3,500 tonnes of second-hand clothing. The warehouse is a supplier to some of the world’s best vintage clothing stores, one of them being Parisian vintage mecca, Kiliwatch Paris. GGSV, otherwise known as Gaelle Gabillet & Stéphane Villard, have also been working with the trade shows to create the ideal backdrop for the collections.

Now if this whole time you’ve been wondering what up-cycling is exactly, let us shed some light on the matter for you. Up-cycling is a design method that involves taking old pieces, and giving them new life by transforming and modifying them in a whole new way. Up-cycling is a way of merging the old and the new together, which is of course what fashion is all about. Fashion is constantly recycled, as old trends become new trends and styles from the past are repurposed to fit into modern times. Out of all it’s advantages, up-cycling is also extremely environmentally friendly, which is always a plus.

The result of (RE)CREATE was a series of varied, timeless pieces, displaying the designers’ personal paths and brilliant creativity. Let’s meet them!

Firstly there’s Nicholas Capron, from Sea For Sinnerman, who used American sailor pants, shorts and caps to create white sailor smocks.

Firstly there’s Nicholas Capron, from Sea For Sinnerman, who used American sailor pants, shorts and caps to create white sailor smocks.

Beirut-based designers Sarah and Tracy of Second St. decided to combine military jackets and denim, which is in homage to Mediterranean olive trees.

Beirut-based designers Sarah and Tracy of Second St. decided to combine military jackets and denim, which is in homage to Mediterranean olive trees.

Louis Gabriel Nouchi loves graphic prints and buying second-hand clothes; for both wearing and tearing a part. He made use of black suit jackets and multicoloured kimonos.

Louis Gabriel Nouchi loves graphic prints and buying second-hand clothes; for both wearing and tearing a part. He made use of black suit jackets and multicoloured kimonos.

Italian designer Giuseppe Caniglia from Work_On typically up-cycles on a regular basis, usually using old pairs of trainers as his preferred medium. So the fact that he chose to modernise old pairs of Converse for this project? Ideal.

Delphine Dénéréaz is a young designer who uses her travels as inspiration for her bold and colourful jewellery. For this project, she decided to unravell football scarves to create new and improved over-sized shawls.

Don’t you dare throw away those old jeans! Up-cycling is the new re-cycling, says Who’s Next and Premiere Classe.

Don’t you dare throw away those old jeans! Up-cycling is the new re-cycling, says Who’s Next and Premiere Classe.