This story is part of Image’s November Lost & Found issue, exploring the many lives our clothes and objects have, the many stories that are still waiting to be unearthed.
When Swedish brand Hodakova won the LVMH prize this year, it felt extra significant. The finalists for the most sought-after prize in fashion — awarded annually — are meant to foreshadow the future of the industry, and not since Paris-based label Marine Serre won in 2017 has a brand centering reuse and upcycling taken the title. Shortly after the LVMH awards, lauded Japanese designer Junya Watanabe presented looks that repurposed techwear, tires and foam blocks in his Summer/Spring ’25 womenswear show at Paris Fashion Week. It all feels different this time, like we’re finally entering the upcycling era.
While the establishment is just starting to adapt, there’s a whole wave of young designers for whom this ethos has been baked into the business from the very beginning, rather than clumsily implemented later on due to (in many cases) increasing pressure for transparency and responsible production. The truth is, reuse has been the foundation for emerging designers for decades (see: cult ’90s and early-2000s New York labels like Susan Cianciolo and Imitation of Christ), offering a chance to participate in an otherwise exclusive industry. Last year a Vogue India article’s headline read, pointedly: “Owning a one-of-a-kind upcycled garment is the new wardrobe flex.” But maybe it’s always been?
“It’s a fascinating challenge to see how designers incorporate their own codes into the technique of upcycling,” says Faith Robinson, head of content at Global Fashion Agenda, a Copenhagen-based nonprofit dedicated to creating a net-positive fashion industry through research publications, events and policy engagement. “When it comes to garment production, the storytelling side of upcycling is unmatched. Take the spoon dress from Hodakova. Where did those spoons come from? How were they collected? Why? Or Buzigahill, the Uganda-based upcycling label that makes amazing pieces but also tells the story of textile waste.”
When it comes to reuse, scaling up and sourcing are issues yet to be solved, but emerging designers are willing and excited to get creative to reimagine the current system — they just need more support. “We don’t see the process of our clothes being made, so a lot of people don’t realize that the design choices completely define the sustainability credentials of our clothes,” Robinson tells me.
From a Japanese denim jacket to an ultra-flattering tee, these items will have you dressing stylish and smart.
Young retailers like APOC store, Japan’s Season, NYC’s Tangerine and L.A.’s Maimoun focus on independent and emerging designers, with a growing selection of exciting brands from around the world that prove the appeal and potential of upcycling and reuse. In New York, there are brands like Giovanna Flores, Everyone’s Mother, SC103, Collina Strada and La Réunion Studio. In Europe, there’s Conner Ives, Rave Review, Ponte, (Di)vision and Marine Serre. New Delhi has Rkive City and L.A. has Suay Shop, Bobby Cabbagestalk and Rio Sport. Rather than remaining segmented from fashion at large, relegated to novelty or niche, the following brands (and many more) show why upcycling and reuse can, and should, be the new normal.
Hodakova
2024 is the year of Hodakova. Motivated by sustainability, Ellen Hodakova Larsson, 32, grew up on a farm an hour outside of Stockholm, and credits her parents’ ingenuity and resourcefulness as a major inspiration for her designs. This is clear in her use of unconventional materials like spoons, rosette prize ribbons, belts and silver plates — everyday items that she recontextualizes to stunning effect in dresses, skirts, and tops. Here’s hoping that under Larsson’s eye, her converted-goods philosophy will take hold of the industry at large.
Ellen Poppy Hill
“I’m kind of a scavenger,” U.K.-based designer Ellen Poppy Hill says of her approach to secondhand fabric sourcing. “I never know what I like but I really know what I don’t like. My fingertips squeal when they don’t like the fabric. It’s a bit of a magpie process.” Hill grew up in Southeast London in an eclectic and playful household with a set designer mother and an actor father. Her first collection, “Constant State of Repair,” debuted this year and was born from her patternless, freehand design method. An Ellen Poppy Hill garment tells a story, like the long black dress covered in lifelike mice figures; the cap with sewing ephemera, buttons and toggles attached by pins; the upcycled dress that appears to be taped together at the seams; or the recycled wool blankets turned into bomber jackets with exaggerated zipper-shaped cutouts. Collections come from time, Hill tells me, to research, draw, think and read. “A lot of the time it’s about listening to the fabrics first,” she says. “I’m focused on finding fabrics that tell a story about why I’m attached to them, why they make me feel a certain way.”
Hood Baby
Hood Baby founder Anny Saray Martinez grew up at the swap meets of L.A. “My mom was a vendor at swap meets and I would go to work with her,” Martinez tells me. “When I got older I started to frequent the other fabric vendors and purchase their leftovers from them.” Motivated by sustainability, a love for ’90s and early-2000s fashion and Latina pop stars like Selena, it’s no surprise that Martinez has been embraced by prominent young pop stars like Tinashe and Tyla. Her body-conscious designs range from feminine upcycled miniskirts to sporty football jersey reworks. “I’ve loved fashion my whole life and have definitely done the homework,” says Martinez.
All-In
All-In is the life of the party. Founding duo Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø initially bonded over their love of reuse, enamored with the idea that with the right technique, you could create something covetable from nothing. Since presenting their first collection in 2019, their fashion shows have become a must-see, where models like Colin Jones bring the downtown-meets-uptown attitude of the brand to life in redesigned dresses of denim and polka dot chiffon. Charli XCX and Rihanna are also All-In girls.
Nicklas Skovgaard
Copenhagen’s Nicklas Skovgaard found his way to fashion design through weaving. He taught himself on a small loom, creating intricate swatches of fabric, before expanding into ready-to-wear and formally launching his brand in 2020. Often credited as sparking an ’80s revival in fashion, his voluminous, one-of-a-kind party dresses come to life through a combination of contrasting thrifted fabrics like denim, taffeta, chiffon, leather and lace. Sequins and florals also feature heavily. The potential of upcycling absolutely shines with Skovgaard’s tough yet elegant touch.
Object From Nothing
Partners and founders of Object From Nothing, Meridith Shook and Jacob Schlater met at the University of Cincinnati while studying architectural engineering and product design, respectively. OFN came to life after their move to a studio space in L.A. last year.
“The No. 1 driver for us is dispelling the myth that reuse is just DIY or lower quality than ‘new’ fashion,” says Schlater from his studio. “When fashion content is shared on Instagram, there’s very little focus on the quality, construction and longevity of pieces. Instead, the focus is on the value of the image that you can get with a piece. It doesn’t matter how the garment actually feels to wear, it matters how it looks like it feels to wear.” Adding value to forgotten materials and reimagining them into exceptional everyday pieces, Shook and Schlater embrace extreme resourcefulness, incorporating everything from metal washers they find on the street to deer antler buttons sourced by Schlater’s mom at a garage sale in his hometown of Hillsborough, Ohio. Inspired by designers like John Alexander Skelton and Paul Harnden, OFN treats even the most unassuming blue striped button-up — made from an upcycled vintage cot cover, no less — with the utmost consideration, transformed by their hands into a wearable artifact.
Wearing preloved clothing carries memory forward and also calls us back.
Compost
Tomo Givhan started exploring fashion design in 2021 after a formative trip to Japan, where he discovered traditional Japanese hand-stitching methods like boro and sashiko. Inspired by Japanese brand Kapital as well as antiques and indigo dyeing and distressing techniques, he set out to put his own spin on these traditional methods, resulting in soulful and layered patchwork creations made from carefully sourced vintage materials. “It’s kind of like painting for me,” Givhan says. “I’ve always gravitated toward vintage. I think the quality is better, the silhouettes are timeless and it’s accessible. There’s so much waste [in fashion] and I don’t want to be a part of that.” Based in L.A., Givhan plans to continue to grow the brand as organically as possible, recontextualizing the history of old garments and funneling them through the Compost lens.
Buzigahill
In 2018, designer Bobby Kolade, armed with a masters in fashion design from the Academy of Arts Berlin Weissensee and experience at both Margiela and Balenciaga, returned to his native Uganda with the goal to invest in the local fashion economy. After some trial and error, Kolade began sourcing and redesigning clothing from the secondhand market in Uganda, a system that is sustained (and burdened) by excess clothing outsourced from the Global North. Handwoven baskets are adorned with fringe made from strips cut from multicolor T-shirts, and patchwork hoodies feature the brand’s signature triangle motif. “We’re sending the clothes back to where they came from,” Kolade told Vogue Business in 2022, “but we’ve imbued a Ugandan identity onto these pieces.”
Duran Lantink
One of Business of Fashion’s top 10 shows of the Spring/Summer 2025 season, and the recipient of the 2024 Karl Lagerfeld prize issued by LVMH, Duran Lantink had a phenomenal year. The Amsterdam- and Paris-based label offers surreal and seductive fashion that merges three-dimensional sculpting techniques with traditional handiwork, all made from a mix of recycled textiles, deadstock and new sustainable materials. Lantink’s inflated silhouettes — think Pokémon-esque, puffy cropped bomber jackets and button-ups, and spherical skirts that look like an inner-tube pool float — are a favorite of stylists and celebrities, appearing on the covers of magazines like POP, Interview, HommeGirls and Re-Edition.
Les Fleurs Studio
Paris-based Les Fleurs Studio is a self-described upcycling project by creative director and stylist Maria Bernad. Steeped in Gothic and Renaissance-era references, Bernad’s romantic designs feature almost exclusively antique lace and crochet in shades of cream and ivory, and sometimes black or the softest pink. Her intricate designs are very bridal-ready, and both Beyoncé and Jared Leto are fans.
Prototypes
In June of this year, the show on everyone’s radar — including Kanye West, who reportedly went out of his way to attend — was Prototypes. An upcycling and repurposing project by designers Laura Beham and Callum Pidgeon, Prototypes has a dark, direct energy in its balaclavas and black and red color scheme, conjuring Balenciaga, but upcycled. “Out with the new, in with the old” is part of their motto, and according to their website, they want to pave the way toward individual expression and sustainability-focused design, with their customers by their side.
Sami Miro Vintage
When Image staff writer Julissa James spoke to Sami Miró back in 2021, Miró was clear about her commitment to sourcing eco-friendly fabrics. “There’s really no other way,” she told James. “I don’t care if I could find the exact same fabric that’s a fourth of the price; I would still choose this.” Since then, Miró has stayed true to her values while making it to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finals, and showing her first upcycled runway collection at New York Fashion Week in 2023. Her self-taught and intuitive design method remains sought after beyond her home base of L.A., and we’ll be watching to see where her scissors take her next.
Production: Mere Studios
Models: Jester Bulnes, April Kosky, Sky Michelle
Makeup: Valerie Vonprisk
Hair: Jocelyn Vega
Photo assistant: Saul Barrera
Styling assistant: Ron Ben
Photo intern: Khalil Bowens
Location: Projkt LA
Romany Williams is a writer, editor and stylist based on Vancouver Island, Canada. Her collaborators include SSENSE, Atmos, L.A. Times Image and more.
