Celebrating 6 years
Regular viewers will know that we usually mark our birthday with a new pattern and shirt design. However this year we're trying something new! And something old, with something borrowed and lots of things that are blue.
Upcycling denim
Over the past 3 years we have evolved the business, championing ethical production, encouraging upcycling and using sustainable materials.
DressCode fans will already know us for the iconic warming stripes, Climate Code shirt - produced for COP in partnership with the British Antarctic Survey and Professor Ed Hawkins. Last year we introduced our ReCode service, encouraging individuals to upcycle their shirts, creating new from old, mixing patterns, colours and textures.
New product lines
It has been tempting to develop other lines, further exploring the fabric landscape, developing a solution that doesn’t bring with it additional environmental problems. We’ve taken our time, ‘cause we want to get this right!
Focusing on one material - Denim
We’ve disappeared down the rather large rabbit hole that is denim. There is so much waste fabric in the world, much of what mankind produces goes to waste and we (the DressCode team) want to stop that cycle of over consumption.
But why Denim? Well there’s loads of it about, it’s also a cotton based fabric, a product area that the team are familiar with. We have previously challenged the status quo with wood-pulp based materials. Finding these alternatives, giving people a better product and reducing the impact of making that product on the planet was, and still very much is, really important to us.
The Denim life cycle
About 18 months ago we started to seriously look at what people do with their used denim – from how they deal with damage and wear issues through to a possible repair and ultimately end of life/repurchase of new.
It quickly became apparent that there was limited life for nearly all denim, especially jeans. I was sure that there was something better to be done, a smarter solution to this problem. I have been experimenting with used denim, adapting my processes and skills, trying new things with old jeans. Earlier this year I met Cosmin Diaconu, founder of RetroGusto (also based in Cambridge) and it quickly became apparent that we shared the desire to see denim being further used and repurposed.
Teamwork
Working side by side, Cosmin and I have developed a sustainable solution to stop the denim dumping. My initial ideas fused with Cosmin’s vast experience of working with denim have created the Recode Denim.
I love working with materials, getting hands on, working side by side in the studio to create this small range of products from old denim jeans has been a really enjoyable few months.
ReCode Denim
Our new-old sports jackets and limited-edition T-shirts will be released under the ReCode part of DressCode to mark the 6th ‘birthday’ of the business in late September, with an exclusive first view at the Re-Fashion Denim, the pop-up sustainable fashion event.
Re-Fashion Denim Edition
Re-Fashion is back for the third time this year, with a special weekend of activities on the first floor of the Grand Arcade, Cambridge. This is a one-off, special weekend at the end of September – 28/29th. As always the Re-Fashion event will be led by sustainable fashion guru and friend of DressCode, Jane Horwood from Trash Chic.
September’s event is a celebration of all things Denim – jeans, bags, coats… it’s one of the most versatile fabrics we wear. Together with Jane and Cosmin we will be sharing ideas using vintage, upcycled denim for both men and women. As well as opportunities to personalise your own denim, donate tired denim and follow in our footsteps, developing your own creations.
For anyone who is unsure about how to get the most from what they’ve already got there will also be 1-2-1 denim styling sessions available with Kath Goodwin.
An important part of this event will be the interactive ‘Denim Dumper’ installation, highlighting the wasteful side of denim, the carbon footprint, pollution and wider societal problems this fabric creates for all of us. We will be sharing more about this in the coming days and weeks in the blog and on socials.
Question - Are you a denim dumper?
It’s not a pleasant thought I know, no-one wants to think of their actions being shitty, whether that’s negatively impacting other people or our planet. But let’s be honest, denim dumping is very real and an elephant in the room that we need to address.
Why denim gets dumped!
We never set out to dump the denim. Our relationship starts out incredibly positive when we discover something that we like – the colour, the feel, the look of the fabric. We’re excited and we enjoy wearing it. But like any garment it does wear out, usually in the crotch on a pair of jeans. It’s also susceptible to damage, pulls or tears just about anywhere. And, of course, it stains and marks like any other material.
Unfortunately, when this happens many people ‘dump the denim’ and replace it with more, increasing the pollution and further damaging the planet. At this point 90-95% of the denim is still perfectly usable! So, let’s stop dumping it and start reusing it.
What can we do about it?
The Re-Fashion Denim Edition is run in support of Secondhand September, challenging the over consumption of fashion which has a huge impact upon our planet’s resources. During September Oxfam and a handful of fashion brands will be championing investing and caring for your clothes, as well as upcycling and recycling them.
Our Re-Fashion Denim event is Cambridge’s answer to this call-to-action. I cannot wait to see this come alive, it’s wonderful to see what can happen when people work together. I know that it can feel overwhelming but there’s a lot that we can do, denim fabric is as versatile as it is durable, we need to get creative with it in order to slow the over consumption trend, rethinking how and where we use it.
You're invited to Re-fashion Denim Edition
It's free to attend, there will be lots of inspiration, fun and support for making the most of your denim. You can also get hands-on with the sports jacket and tees. We're on the first floor, The Grand Arcade, Cambridge, September 28-29th