See How Marine Serre Upcycled Her Spring 2020 Collection

Marine Serre's unwavering commitment to sustainability has been a hallmark of her burgeoning label since debuting about three years ago. So much so that upcycling — the process of reusing discarded materials to create high quality products — now accounts for 50% of her collection..

The designer and LVMH Prize winner, who refers to these finished garments as "regenerated," admits that the process is not an easy one. Finding factories that were willing work with Serre's production standards proved difficult at first, but eventually she was able to find the right suppliers after some convincing.

"Generally, the process starts with research in dead-stocks or second-hand stores; if the material found is interesting and fits the collection it gets selected," Serre tells PAPER. "The second part is then about finding the best way to use and treat the fabrics and materials."

She adds that the suppliers' machines detect the exact fibers the materials are made of so that they only work with the best materials. "Once arrived in our studio, the materials are carefully reviewed, one by one by our in-house upcycling team," she says, calling the entire process quite complex as it is slightly different each time.

Below, see how the brand transformed six different leftover materials — denim, towels, silk scarves, leather, bedsheets, crochet — into one-of-a-kind luxury garments for its Spring 2020 collection.