Based in New York and one of the first designers to adopt upcycled fabrics, Mia Vesper with her vibrant tapestry jackets made a splash on the fashion scene in 2017, when she staged an unauthorised guerrilla-style presentation outside of the Marc Jacobs show during Fashion Week, using her friends as models. Working with Italian and Mexican vintage wedding blankets, Mia Vesper (née Humber) transformed them into unisex biker jackets with leather patches and silk linings. In her latest collections she also experimented with other vintage materials, also creating basketball shorts and long trench coats. "I love salvaging deadstock materials, old shoemaker’s textiles, discarded upholstery and things like that,” she commented. And while the tapestry jacket remains her signature piece, she has started recycling other materials, such as jacquard fabric and she calls “mermaid” fabric. Her pieces have been worn by Sofia Richie and Halsey, and ordered in bulk by Beyoncé, which she wore in her grand visual album “Black is King.” At the moment, Vesper estimates that over 30 percent of her collection is recycled, while the rest is composed of unique pieces, made with an eco-conscious process by being produced in very small batches locally in New York. "My concept of sustainability is based on American made or fair trade labour. My philosophy can be summed up by: small quantities, design integrity, individuality and longevity.”
Extremely popular on social media, Pierre-Louis Auvray is one of the most exciting young creative minds in the world of fashion design. French by birth, he graduated from Central Saint Martins in London, and created his first collection interpreting the concept of recycling in an extremely eccentric way. "All the clothes have been created using knitted jumpers purchased in thrift stores and I asked my friends to donate their discarded clothing. The plastic parts were also created with my old toys and a hairdryer or other electronic components that no longer work,” says the designer. “I was born and raised in Le Mans, racing cars and motocross are in my DNA.” The result is a colourful and futuristic collection that allowed him to participate in the VFiles 11 collective show, presenting his collection at the latest Fashion Week in New York and achieving great personal success. Upcycling yes, but also reuse: some of the looks were created by transforming outfits previously made for an exhibition, while others – such as the latex leggings – were made with pieces purchased for his wrestling-inspired graduation collection. "I love the idea of reusing parts of clothing already worn by other people: they tell a story and at the same time contribute in creating something new.”