When you think of upcycling, what springs to mind? Images of elderly ladies darning socks, teenagers tie-dying T-shirts during the pandemic or punks adorning their wardrobes with safety pins and slashes. Upcycling has been a key pillar of craftsmanship for decades, but only now is it entering the mainstream fashion sphere.
Upcycling is sustainable to its very core. The act of taking old items of clothing and breathing new life into them via stitching, crocheting and patchworking not only saves garments from clogging up landfills but also reduces vast amounts of waste created in the workshops.
Brands, from the big names in luxury to the lesser-known emerging, are incorporating trimmings and deadstock into their latest collections en masse. We’ve witnessed brands such as Chopova Lowena, Connor Ives, Marques’ Almeida and Ahluwalia send upcycled looks sashaying down the runway during London Fashion Week, in turn cementing themselves as the new It-Brit labels to watch.
Across the Continent, Rave Review and Marine Serre have also been making a case for upcycling, fortifying the credentials of the craft internationally.
While upcycling is shown throughout history, it tends to be associated with a lack of supplies. The practice was forcibly embraced upon the dawn of World War 1 during the 1940s when women were encouraged to mend their pre-loved garments.
Hop over the other the Berlin Wall during the Sixties and you’ll find women of East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic, fashioning clothing out of old shower curtains or bed sheets using patterns found in magazines. Fashion under socialism could barely exist without upcycling what was already on hand as no other fabrics were readily available.
While brands that upcycle are still a few steps behind brands that enforce a climate-positive ethos, it’s a huge step in the right direction. In today’s age of mass clothing production, crafts are often sidelined, yet there are a handful of labels paving the way for a more sustainable approach to how we shop.
Read on to discover the best clothing brands that champion upcycling in their designs.
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Chopova Lowena
Design duo Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena have refined folkloric fashion with their kaleidoscopic collections. Fairytale prints, pleated tartans and nostalgic graphics fuse to form distinctive pieces.
The brand champions sustainability through the use of deadstock material and has accumulated a glittering clientele led by Dua Lipa.
Our pick: Birds Everywhere Printed Recycled-blend Mesh Top
Buy now £195.00, Matches
Rave Review
Rave Review is a Swedish upcycling brand founded by Josephine Bergqvist and Livia Schück. The design duo creates punkish pieces from pre-loved fabrics such as bold tartans, whimsical lace and other playful textures. They presented their first collection in Paris in 2017 and have since gone on to create five more collections that champion upcycling and craftsmanship.
Our pick: Multicolor Eira Mini Skirt
Buy now £545.00, SSENSE
Marine Serre
French designer Marine Serre is celebrated for her crescent moon prints and futuristic style. She takes inspiration from Islamic motifs and sportswear, working with deadstock jeans, sheets and fabrics to hone her collections.
Our pick: Regenerated Denim Flared Midi Skirt
Buy now £1450.00, Selfridges
Connor Ives
What do Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Mia Regan all have in common? They’re all fans of Connor Ives. The American designer uses deadstock fabric and recycled vintage clothing to create offbeat designs that draw upon American youth culture.
Our pick: Sexy Fish Dress
Buy now £800.00, Koibird
Marques’ Almeida
Marques’ Almeida was founded in 2011 by Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida. The duo celebrates asymmetry with their designs that fuse feather trims with deconstructed denim, patchwork brocade and more. Construction is key for the brand, which offers an array of sculptural partywear pieces.
Our pick: Asymmetric Cutout Embroidered Tulle Lace Mini Dress
Buy now £252.00, Harvey Nichols
Ahluwalia
Since launching in 2018, Priya Ahluwalia has pioneered sustainable apparel that merges athleisure and luxury fashion. Each season, the designer honours her dual heritage, both Indian and Nigerian through earthy colour palettes and cutting-edge textile techniques.
Our pick: Clover Embellished Satin-trimmed Moiré Midi Skirt
Buy now £495.00, Net-A-Porter
Farm Rio
Farm Rio reuses surplus fabric in stock to produce colourful pieces that epitomise dopamine dressing. The brand advocates upcycling defective items and establishing partnerships that give its clothes a new life. Farm Rio also uses considered materials such as LENZING and ECOVERO to create sustainable summery pieces.
Our pick: Grandma Gift Bead-Embellished Embroidered Cotton Halterneck Top
Buy now £117.13, Net-A-Porter
E.L.V Denim
E.L.V. Denim is short for East London Vintage Denim, and each product is locally made in the capital. Anna Foster, the brand’s founder, repurposes vintage denim into new contemporary, wearable jeans. Pieces are created from unwanted post-consumer waste denim that consumes only seven litres of water to wash the yarn, versus the 10,000 litres that conventional jean-making methods use.
Our pick: E.L.V. Denim Flare Jeans
Buy now £150.00, Anthropologie
Fanfare The Label
Fanfare The Label is a conscious denim brand revolutionising the way shoppers perceive circular fashion. Founded in 2019 by Esther Knight, the award-winning London-based label designs upcycled denim pieces and offers an upcycling service for customers to revive their old jeans.
Our pick: High Waisted Upcycled Patchwork Denim Long Skirt with Slit
Buy now £189.00, Fanfare The Label
RE/DONE
As per the brand’s name, RE/DONE redoes fashion. The brand hand-picks and reworks vintage denim, alongside other pieces, into luxury one-offs. Discover the label’s signature reconstructed jeans or allow yourself to be tempted by recycled knits, reworked leather or patchwork crochet concoctions.
Our pick: Racer Textured-leather Biker Jacket
Buy now £1380.00, Net-A-Porter
Been London
Founded in 2018 by Genia Mineeva, BEEN London is an award-winning luxury goods brand that crafts accessories entirely from recycled materials. The brand’s bags are made by hand in one of the last remaining East London leather workshops and are constructed from materials deemed as waste. Such examples include tannery off-cut leather, single-use bottles and apple skins.
Our pick: Mini Millais Bag
Buy now £220.00, Been London
The Meaning Well
The Meaning Well is a London-based brand founded by fashion consultant Katie Ruensumran. As with most of the brand’s ethereal pieces, the cream Florentine mini dress is woven from floral jacquard that’s upcycled from deadstock fabrics and then topped off with a frilled trim.
Our pick: Florentine Upcycled Floral-Jacquard Mini Dress
Buy now £865.00, Matches
Renata Brenha
We present to you Renata Brenha. The London-based designer leans into her Latin American heritage and a love for all things football. Upcycling is a key part of her collections which use revive and recycle waste fabric.
Our pick: Futebol Pleated Upcycled-jersey Trousers
Buy now £530.00, Matches
Colville
Colville was launched in 2018 by former British Vogue fashion director and stylist Lucinda Chambers and ex-Marni designer Molly Molloy. The duo has curated a collection of bold pieces that celebrate individuality and longevity. From tonal knits to playful accessories, the upcycling brand has something for everyone.
Our pick: Maxi Wayuu Knitted Tote Bag
Buy now £633.00, Matches
Phoebe English
Phoebe English is one of the most exciting names in the sustainability sphere. The London-based designer rejects the concept of fast fashion, instead pioneering local production that reduces negative environmental impact. English reclaims waste to create new pieces, in turn avoiding polluting the planet further.
Our pick: Inky Big Pocket Jacket
Buy now £518.00, Young British Designers
Lydia Bolton
Lydia Bolton is a slow fashion designer who founded her eponymous brand in 2019. The designer advocates for zero waste and works solely with deadstock fabrics and thrifted pieces to create luxury, accessible womenswear and homeware.
Our pick: Blue and White Striped Shirt
Buy now £95.00, Lydia Bolton
Patrick McDowell
Craftsmanship is at the heart of Patrick McDowell’s designs. The designer founded his eponymous brand in 2018 and has solidified its place as a pioneer of sustainable luxury. The label offers made-to-order pieces to reduce waste and inspires other brands to follow suit.
Our pick: Marie Dress
Buy now £2845.00, Patrick McDowell
Sarah Garfield
Sarah Garfield is a London-based designer who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2021. The designer creates gothic Victoriana silhouettes using distressed Noughties deadstock fabrics, vintage trimmings and recycled yarns. Her garments have been seen on the likes of Holly Humberstone.
Our pick: Kitten Mohair Beanie
Buy now £50.00, Sarah Garfield
Roop
Crafted by Natasha Fernandes Anjo using leftover and discarded fabrics, Roop’s delightful jewel-toned scrunchie-like satin bags are inspired by furoshiki, the traditional Japanese cloth wrapping technique. The accessories are released in limited runs, ensuring there is no waste produced.
Our pick: Baby Furoshiki bag Baby Blue
Buy now £48.00, Roop
Chillie London X M.C.Overalls
Chillie London is a vintage clothing business founded by stylists Natalie Hartley and Lydia McNeill. The brand, which is beloved by stars including Lily Allen, Annie Mac and Miquita Oliver, has collaborated with M.C. Overalls to create a capsule collection of upcycled pieces. Utilitarian styles are married with nostalgic denim textures to create uber-wearable, retro designs.
Our pick: Chillie X M.C.Overalls Upcycled Work Jacket
Buy now, Chillie London
By.Wuzzy
By.Wuzzy is an eco-conscious brand that solely uses upcycled denim. Each and every denim garment is fashioned from 100 per cent vintage fabric from deadstock clothing. Each item is unique, meaning you can choose from one-off corsets, jeans, skirts and more.
Our pick: Low Back Eyelet Bodice
Buy now £160.00, By.Wuzzy
Doodlage
Indian brand Doolage upcycles factory waste to craft short limited edition collections. Cut-up scraps, recycled post-consumer waste and trimmings are all used to fashion new fabrics with a seasonless appeal. With affordable price tags, the brand ensures upcycling is accessible for all.
Our choice: Karen Panelled Dress
Buy now £54.19, Doodlage
