Re-Fashion Denim Edition
What is Re-Fashion?
Re-Fashion was founded by Jane Horwood of Trash Chic. It's a series of pop-up, in-person events sharing a love of clothes, in particular all things vintage and upcycled. Jane's passion for funky and individual clothes has seen her develop a unique collection of preloved and customised pieces. Her thoughtfully curated collection allows both men and women to explore their own style in an affordable and sustainable way.
Re-Fashion is back at the Grand Arcade, Cambridge at the end of September with a brand-new line-up featuring us! Yes DressCode will be there sharing a brand new project - a collaboration with Cosmin Diaconu, founder of Retro Gusto, who is also based in Cambridge.
The theme of the September weekend pop-up is Denim. There are so many great things to do with this material and so many ways to wear it, from vintage and personalised to upcycled and reimagined clothes – the only limit is your imagination.
For this event we are asking people 'Are you a Denim Dumper?' Our space within the Grand Arcade will include an interactive installation, demonstrating the hidden problems with Denim. There will also be ideas for how to customize your denim, new clothes made from old Denim, reimagined Denim and for those who aren't confident with clothes, we have Kath Goodwin, fashion designer and stylist on-hand to help you make the most of wearing your denim through 1-2-1 styling sessions. BTW you can book here!
Are you a denim dumper?
It’s not a pleasant thought we 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.
What can we do about it?
I've been thinking that, “There must be something better we can do with this?” Like so many people I like the versatility and comfort of Denim, but I'm also very aware that every pair of jeans is produced at enormous cost to our planet. When they get damaged or wear through my conscience always said, “There's so much life left in this!”
Community and collaboration
I shared my idea for upcycled Denim with Jane and other friends from the world of design and fashion, all people who are equally passionate about sustainability. I was inquisitive, looking to see what they did with their used denim, how they dealt with damage, wear and repair. It became apparent that there was a limited life for nearly all denim, especially jeans, even for an eco-conscious wearer.
I continued experimenting with Denim, trying new things with old jeans. When I met Cosmin it quickly became apparent that we shared the desire to see Denim being further recycled and repurposed.
Teamwork
Working side by side with Cosmin we have developed a sustainable solution to stop the denim dumping. My initial ideas and Cosmin’s vast experience with denim have been fused together through several sessions, working in the studio, side by side. We have been cutting, pinning and testing to create a brand new-old range of products. These are items of clothing that not only look great, but genuinely upcycle as much fabric as possible within every pair of Denim jeans.
We call this ReCode Denim
We're starting with the new-old sports jacket and limited-edition Tees. These items will be released under the ReCode part of DressCode in late September. We'll be sharing more in blogs and on socials over the coming weeks.
What are the hidden problems of denim?
Unfortunately there are a lot of problems with Denim, here are 3 key facts that we think you should know...
WATER CONSUMPTION
It takes over 3,780 litres of water to produce just a single pair of denim jeans. Depending on the colour it can be up to 10,000 litres per pair!
CARBON EMISSIONS
Each pair of jeans carries a large carbon footprint (from production through consumer use to dumping), around 33.4 kg of CO2 per pair.
CHEMICAL USE
Denim production involves a number of harmful chemicals, including pesticides, fertilizers, dyes (indigo – both natural and synthetic) and finishing agents. All of these are not only harmful the environment they are also toxic for humans too.
I think you can see why it's time to rethink our relationship with Denim.
Thanks and collaborators
I have to say a special thank you to both Jane (TrashChic) and Cosmin (RetroGusto) they have both been great to work with, sharing developing and helping me bring this to life with these people has been a fab experience.
I also need to say a big thank you to Julie Kervadec at the Grand arcade, without who this simply wouldn't be happening.
Photos - of me and Jane in the Denim clothes were taken by Juliana Freitas, with art direction from Cosmin.
And last, for now, the publications that have supported us locally - Velvet Magazine and the Cambridge Independent. There's too many folks to name here, but thank you all, your support is, as always very much appreciated.