Renewable Fashion

Sheets of fabric and a needle and thread may bring the image of Project Runway to mind - that is until the letters D.I.Y. come into the picture, then one may be haunted by images of the craft section at Walmart and ugly prints made into ill fitting clothes. It seems that many object to the idea of creating clothes, and would rather run into the nearest Urban or H&M for the next fashionable look. Clothes from these stores may have become staples in our closet collections and may provide all the essentials to dressing well, but they have also taken out some of the creativity and personalized feel of clothing. However, there are still small outlets of uniqueness hidden if you know where to look.

Any avid Urban shopper will be familiar with the concept of renewable fashion. They recently introduced a new collection made up of one-of-a-kind pieces. Each is handcrafted from vintage, deadstock, and surplus materials sourced from rag mills around the world. The idea behind this “green look” is creating new pieces out of old fabrics, something that we can all do ourselves with a little practice.

 Mari Santos is an amateur designer that was hoping to be a part of the Urban Renewal Team. She has a web page that shows off her “redesigns” while explaining her approach to urban renewal.

“To me, urban renewal is all about creating a fresh and unique style out of whatever you’re given; taking something old, frumpy and ill fitting and making it into something new.” With big t-shirts as her “old, frumpy and ill fitting” something, she created a series of cute jumpers, dresses, baby doll shirts and purses. Looking at her end products, you would never guess that they were once giant, simple t-shirts.

She uses her excess fabric to makes cloth roses and straps and adds simple extras like buttons and lace to further progress her looks. T-shirt reconstruction is something you may have done at camp, but Santos pushes beyond the cut and tie method and looks at a t-shirt as a canvas of possibilities. While the average person doesn’t necessarily have the skill to come up with the reconstructed looks of Mari Santos, we can use her as a muse for our own hand crafted looks. You can check out some of her designs at www.wiredminds.ca/mari. (Her t-shirt designs are under fashion in her portfolio, just click on the round picture of the button.)

            These interesting, original ideas and designs can do more then add a little extra uniqueness to our lives, they can serve as a reminder that we are allowed to look beyond our “safe” stores and into the world of renewable. It is a step beyond thrift stores that allows us to imagine and create, and who knows, maybe it will even inspire us to make something completely new… like a jumper out of an oversized t-shirt. Have fun creating!

By Hanna Kelly