Recycling takes a starring role this month, with a clothing company using deadstock fabrics to make new jackets, a construction materials firm using waste to build and celebrities and locals donating fabric to Grenfell FC.
Reworked classic
The classic chore jacket can be traced back to the 19th century, when these durable button-fronted jackets with roomy pockets were first developed in France for agricultural and industrial workers. While different jobs called for slight alterations, it has remained pretty much unchanged for decades. Fashion, of course, is much more changeable and the chore or coverall jacket is very much on trend at the moment. If you’re looking for a version that has more heritage than the high street, look to Reworked 348. This Derbyshire company uses deadstock material and recycles workwear to make quality clothes that, as they say, are neither new nor second-hand. Their latest collaboration is with the Benromach Distillery, Speyside – a herringbone jacket with cuffs that can be buttoned or rolled.
Sally Harnden, one of Reworked 348’s designers, says: “Our goal is to bring products to life in authentic ways, with great attention to detail. We are very proud of the end result and will now sit down for a well-earned dram with Benromach.”
Reworked 348 x Benromach Distillery coverall jacket is now available. It’s handmade using fabric from workwear originally made in the 1990s
Front and centre
One company’s name cropped up five times on this year’s Dezeen Awards long lists. Dutch sustainable building materials manufacturer Front is nominated in sustainability, interiors and architecture categories for projects in the Netherlands and the UK. Their products include CornWall – a plant-based, moisture-resistant material used for chic wall finishes – and WasteBased bricks, sturdy building blocks made from waste, all using byproducts to make new construction materials. The company was started in 2009 by Tom van Soest when he was a student at the Design Academy Eindhoven and evolved into Front. (Van Soest has since set up his own studio, Blended Materials, but still works with Front on specific projects.) Their bricks made from building waste now meet technical requirements for new-build projects. As refuse from construction and demolition is one of the biggest waste streams in the world, the company’s research and products could make a genuine difference. As Van Soest says, one of the company’s missions is to “prove that waste can be beautiful”. With the tiles and bricks turning rubbish into quality construction materials, Front is heading in the right direction.
Tailor made
In some ways, Thom Browne is an unlikely fashion success story. Born in Pennsylvania, and with an economics degree rather than any formal fashion education, Browne produces fashion shows that look like performance art pieces, and has somehow turned a shrunken suit into a signature look. Documentary filmmaker Reiner Holzemer – a German director known for his films about Dries van Noten and Martin Margiela – brings this surprising story to the screen in Thom Browne – the Man Who Tailors Dreams, which just premiered at documentary festival DOC NYC, New York. From making skirts for men a reality and his oddly proportioned suits, to his extraordinary success with red-carpet fashion, Browne has dressed Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Jenna Ortega, to name but a few – this film brings insight into a true original.
Thom Browne – the Man Who Tailors Dreams will be on wide release in 2025
Modern vision
Graphic designers in Britain came into their own after the second world war. This was an intense period of rebuilding society and infrastructure – all under the cloud of austerity and in the shadow of nuclear war. A new book, Modernist Graphic Design in Britain 1945-1980, from The Modernist Society captures the design highlights of this period and honours the input from British artists. From the stark corporate logos created by June Fraser, a creative with the Design Research Unit agency, to the political and nuclear disarmament posters by designer Robin Fior, this meticulous book is a tribute to this era.
Jack Hale, co-founder of The Modernist Society, says: “The influence of modernist graphic design on our visual culture and traditions is so often underappreciated. The contribution of many designers is diligently highlighted by Ian and Tony in this title, we are thrilled to be able to remind people of this through their work.”
Modernist Graphic Design in Britain 1945-1980 by Ian McLaren and Tony Pritchard is out now
Towering achievement
Grenfell Athletic FC’s latest football kit drop is a very special project. The football club was set up after the 2017 fire in Grenfell Tower, which claimed 72 lives, and is a focus of camaraderie for the local community. The cloth for the new kit has been sourced through a project called Fabric of the Community, with locals and supporters donating fabric. There are celebrity gifts such as a match-worn shirt from Héctor Bellerín’s time at Arsenal and a Doncaster Rovers shirt from One Direction member Louis Tomlinson. But the donations from locals are most afffecting. Survivor Nick Burton has donated the shirt he wore the night of the fire. A local firefighter has given the shirt he wore on his first day of duty at North Kensington fire station. He joined the London Fire Brigade in 2019 after the events of June 2017 motivated him to help the community. The design will be worn by both the men’s and women’s teams during the 2024/25 season. Each has an embedded chip in the club badge which links to video telling the story of the shirt’s donated fabric.
To support Grenfell Athletic’s journey and buy the new home shirt, go to Kitlocker
