1 week Ago By Olivia Allen
As the fashion industry reckons with its environmental footprint, a new generation of designers is leading the charge when it comes to sustainable practices. From London to Amsterdam, Milan to Antwerp, these young talents are taking surplus stock, post-consumer waste and vintage fabrics and turning them into something new, exciting and most importantly, eco-conscious. Ranging from puffed-up heels fashioned from eBay finds to one-of-a-kind patchwork knits, Vogue spotlights the work of rising fashion designers putting upcycling at the centre of their practice.
Rua Carlota Rua Carlota began as a personal project and a series of experiments for self-taught designer Charlotte Rose Kirkham. Frustrated by the trend cycles she saw within the world of vintage fashion, Kirkham decided to take a different approach. Describing herself as an artist, she is inspired by a garment’s construction rather than the need to make a pre-loved piece fit a certain aesthetic.
Owing to the unique nature and construction of the garments, no two Rua Carlota pieces are alike, meaning there’s no risk of running into someone with the same outfit anytime soon. Ugo Paulon Ugo Paulon has an origin story as unique as its statement-making footwear: the name derives from a combination of usernames of the eBay sellers the label first bought shoes from, with the intention of upcycling them. Ugo Paulon works with deadstock and repurposed materials, building upon what is already available and reinterpreting existing designs with a fresh eye.
It describes its signature spiral design as “a positive symbol of awareness, growth and change and is so universal across cultures and in nature. It also represents looking inwards and revisiting forgotten resources within.” Rosie Evans Rosie Evans describes herself as a “high fantasy designer”.
Based in Brighton, Rosie works with pre-loved fabric including, but not limited to, hand-embroidered tablecloths from the 1950s, old silk curtains, tea towels and patchwork scrap fabric. In addition to more conventional materials, Rosie also uses plastic fruit packaging from the Cardiff food market as the boning for her Regencycore-meets-riot grrrl corsets. Drawing from her family heritage and childhood in South Wales, Rosie is creating a fantasy world for each wearer – each piece is brimming with playful nods to the past while keeping the future of fashion in mind.
Les Fleurs Born out of a desire to combine a passion for vintage with a need to build something new, Les Fleurs is the brainchild of creative director Maria Bernad. Her romantic, historically inspired pieces are created in an atelier in Paris, with Maria using one-off fabrics and repurposed material to create her lingerie-inspired, zero waste designs. Yaku Established by Central Saint Martins graduate Yaku Stapleton in 2023, Yaku is a high-concept label creating upcycled nylon jackets and puffers filled with recycled bedding.
For the brand’s spring/summer 2025 collection, Stapleton explored fashion through the lens of Afrofuturism, setting the presentation within a prehistoric-inspired space and using “characters” from within his own family to explore worldbuilding and wearable, environmentally-minded clothes. 1/Off For one-off creations birthed from upcycled Chanel, Burberry and Hermès, look no further than 1/Off. Based in Amsterdam, the label takes designer deadstock, celebrating the legacy of some of the most iconic designers, and reimagines it into unique contemporary pieces.
1/Off respects the influences of the past while repurposing archival pieces for a contemporary audience. Façon Jacmin Belgian twins Alexandra and Ségolène Jacmin founded Façon Jacmin to give denim a second life. Designing their collections in Antwerp, the pair work with upcycled Levi’s and vintage jeans to construct architectural creations that prioritise craftsmanship and longevity.
The one-of-a-kind garments are created within ateliers in Europe, meaning Alexandra and Ségolène can prioritise sustainability and circulity at every step of their process. Ninamounah Based in Amsterdam, Ninamounah Langestraat is interested in exploring the cultural-historical structures that reveal themselves through design, with the label using deadstock material as the starting point to investigate the disjointed cultural approaches to fashion and, more widely, humanity. Repurposed fabrics are transformed into subversive silhouettes and unexpected structures while respecting the garments’ origins.
Gina Corrieri Gina Corrieri’s cult T-skirts – stitched from secondhand tees – are fun and functional. Designed to be worn, reworked and worn again, her upcycled silhouettes have earned fans including Shygirl and Jorja Smith. They’re made in the UK, styled for the club, and kind to the planet.
Ella Boucht Ella Boucht’s tailoring is soft, oversized and eco-minded. Based in London, the Finnish designer works primarily with deadstock, using bespoke tailoring and innovative alterations to create gender-fluid pieces that explore the experience of body dysmorphia with nuance and sensitivity. Boucht’s designs exude confidence, and prioritise clothing as a tool for self-expression and power, using sustainability-sourced materials and a made-to-order approach.
Rave Review Stockholm-based Rave Review was founded in 2018 by Swedish designers Josephine Bergqvist and Livia Schück, who transform deadstock fabrics into unapologetic ready-to-wear. The pair’s signature tartan ruffles and patchwork shirts fly the flag for an environmentally-focused but still more-is-more approach. Reamerei Founded in 2019 by Maria Geusa, with Enrico Micheletto and Davide Melism, Reamerei is the Italian brand imagining fashion’s post-apocalyptic future through genderless, environmentally-focused clothing.
Working with deadstock and organic fabrics, the Milanese label is stepping beyond the conventional constructs of gender to explore what it means to design for a non-binary future..
