When Damaged Goods From Balenciaga and Jacquemus Get a Second Chance
Fashion

When Damaged Goods From Balenciaga and Jacquemus Get a Second Chance

As one of the biggest buzzwords of the sustainability movement from the past few years, upcycling has gone from a niche industry practice to a major focus of designers' supply chains. The process of reusing deadstock fabrics and turning them into finished goods has been adopted by everyone from Marine Serre to Jonathan Cohen, as well as bigger labels like Diesel and Miu Miu.

So it may not come as too much of a surprise that eight of fashion's key names are getting in on the action together on the first day of Earth Month: A-COLD-WALL, Balenciaga, Jacquemus, Stella McCartney, Dries van Noten, Simone Rocha, Zero + Maria Cornejo and Ulla Johnson have all donated their damaged and defected items to The RealReal to create new upcycled pieces for a project called Re-Collection.

Stella McCartney

"As a designer, I think it's the biggest compliment for your designs to have an afterlife – to me, that is luxury," McCartney said in a statement. "And I take it into consideration from the beginning of the process. The timelessness of the design, how it's made, what materials are used to produce it – it is all part of our ethos at Stella McCartney. We invest a lot to make sure that our products are made to last rather than end up in a landfill."

The upcyling process was carried out by LA-based company Ateliers & Repairs, who incorporated pieces of unfinished American quilts into each look. ReCollection 01 consists over over 50 pieces in total, including women's, men's and accessories, with prices ranging fro $195 to $2,450. (A portion of the proceeds are going to reforestation organization One Tree Planted.) Check out the full collection at TheRealReal.com.

Photo: Loamis Rodgriguez

Photos courtesy of The RealReal