Vintage shopping has been popular for ages. Many people do it rightfully for environmental reasons, others because it’s cheaper and some because they are chasing the aesthetic. But what is truly buzzing right now, and for good reasons, is the art of reworked clothing. Not only is it good for the planet, but by wearing reworked clothes you’ll elevate your style in ways you never experienced before, as the creativity behind the reconstruction of garments is unique for each piece, and you’re guaranteed to be the only person rocking your outfit. Here are some Instagram based brands you need to follow asap:

@Expensivethebrand

Expensivethebrand is the quintessential reworked clothing brand. It proves that vintage doesn’t necessarily have to look old, and it can elevate even the most contemporary style. By incorporating sexy and high-fashion details into streetwear, it certainly claims the spot as one of the most attractive brands of the moment.

@Lois1xblue

The Manchester graduate designer is making football merch sexy, and that says a lot about the creativity behind their garments. Every reworked look is simply stunning, and the barely-there bodysuits have become a staple for the brand, even worn by the likes of Kim Kardashian. Their clothes are innovative, trendy and truly out of the box, and curated in such an avant-garde way that is impossible to resist.

@Matacomplex

Patchwork has always been trendy, but this British designer can be considered the queen. Using vibrant electrified hues of blue/ pink and green and yellow, the cropped asymmetrical patchwork designs are simply divine. Fabrics can be knit, nylon or even lycra. For every creation it’s like looking at a messy nuclear kaleidoscope made to be adored.

@ai_mei__li

This designer’s brand makes hippy, deconstructed clothing fashionable again. The inventiveness of their designs is astounding, and every single look seems to have come out of a fantasy world.

@Randomaffects

The NYC based brand has some of the most unique and edgy pieces you’ve ever seen. If you’re looking for a real authentic streetwear vibe or simply to be inspired, take a look at their stunning upcycled creations.

@urban.reworks

This edgy and unique brand plays on the duality of dressing down as a way to dress up, using ‘fashionable’ humour to attract customers. The fabrics are from brands such as Nike and other sportswear designers, and the logos are reminiscent to the original brands but with a twist of humour. It is a beautiful mélange of colorful, original and comfortable clothes that will surely make you stand out.

Words By Tommaso Donati

The post Reuse, Rework and Re-Love: Upcycling Brands To Follow ASAP appeared first on Voir Fashion.

The key items of her collection are her now-famous, somehow iconic, sportswear stilettos.

When meeting Ancuta Sarca, the first thing you notice is the warmth of her polite yet spontaneous smile framed in the wilderness of her curly black hair. The second thing is her Eastern Europe accent, capaciously contaminated by a four-year permanence in London after graduating from the Art and Design university of Cluj Napoca, Romania. The third thing which really gets your attention is her passion and commitment towards sustainability and the closeness to her Romanian origins, which were both the starting points for building the collection she has just presented at the Fashion East designer space during London Fashion Week.

The result is a hybrid shoe, a centaur of high fashion that is half sportswear and half disused kitten heels.

The key items of her collection are her now-famous, somehow iconic, sportswear stilettos. This oxymoronic combination came to her mind while disassembling tons and tons of shoes in order to actually learn how to make them while she was still in school.

The result is a hybrid shoe, a centaur of high fashion that is half sportswear and half disused kitten heels. By combining Nike football shoes of the brightest red, green and blue with black and white kitten heels, the designer has stylishly produced a piece of fashion that perfectly translates today’s thirst for anything trash and shabby, whilst delivering a luxury, high fashion product.

These up-cycled shoes are entirely handcrafted by Ancuta herself, a factor that guarantees the best quality of this original product while keeping the footprint to a minimum.

The sustainability part behind her concept stands in her venture plumbing the depths of Ebay, going from several charity shops and vintage platforms to every forgotten corner of her friends’ closets to find abandoned trainers and kitten heels, with the aim of repurposing them. These up-cycled shoes are entirely handcrafted by Ancuta herself in her North London studio, a factor that guarantees the best quality of this original product while keeping the footprint left by her newly born eponymous label to a minimum.

“We are the first generation that starts to feel the effects of climate change, it’s a red flag moment but it’s never too late to make a change” – said Ancuta addressing the sustainability issue and why young people should take advantage from the momentum sustainability is having as a trend to start an actual movement.

Ancuta Sarca brought to the fashion system a forward-thinking, sustainable product that draws inspiration from history and gives new life to shunned pieces of clothing

Another factor that influenced her unusual and winning designing choice is definitely her Romanian origin, or better, her childhood: back in Soviet times and post-communist years, sportswear had much importance among people, so much that Adidas tracksuits became an authentic uniform for Soviet kids belonging to the underground culture of the time, and later mockingly renamed “gopniki” for their inclination of doing squats in the middle of the street.

“I remember when I was really young, on the first day of school all the kids would wear Adidas tracksuits: it was a really important thing to have a sports brand on you”.

With this in mind, Ancuta Sarca brought to the fashion system a forward-thinking, sustainable product that draws inspiration from history and gives new life to shunned pieces of clothing that lasted less than a season, reminding us all that there’s no future without knowing where we come from and that the past always shapes the present, often in an unconscious way.

Words by Beatrice Buschittari

Graphics by Katie Janes

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