A) Dramatizing
In my latest fashion collection which was inspired by strong women all of the pieces were up-cycled. For the first time I was able to do it 100%. The collection is dedicated to strong women taking inspiration from the warrior attires from the time of the Vikings and Pirates. A variety of materials, head accessories, layerings, powerful pieces and stylings were present on the catwalk (see more here http://simonalampe.com).
The main drive behind my collection is uncertainty, which is intensively present in today's world: riots, war, fear surrounding us… In a way, I wished to convey the message that we should not give up - we must fight, not with weapons, but by means of patience, love and equality.
B) Analyzing
Now back to up-cyclings! In this post I would like to present one of the trench-coats, as they are very frequently the subjects of re-producing. The 80’s shape is found by many to be demode, especially for customer over 50 years of age. How would they again fall in love with over-sized shoulders? They've already lived this fashion era fully and it's hard for them to treat it like a good vintage. For younger generations it's the opposite. They’ve been introduced to the 80’s through Madonna’s videos or the movie Pretty Women, etc. Some, like me, were older yet too young to experienced the decade thoroughly.
So, how do you consider the 25-years-old Max Mara trench?
Well, it will for sure be a treasure for the owner of this Max Mara - a-70-year-old lady. It will become a piece of a clothing with the story of a top business woman, still beautiful inside out, who is the perfect example of someone who never ever gives up. She is also one of those, who is constantly pushing me to strive for my sustainable fashion vision.
C) Action
My AW 2016 collection follows the geometrical rule of right angle, rectangle and square. Implementation of geometrical figures goes in two ways: first, as an input of other fabric, and second, as a cut-out of existing fabric. Our trench has been given the treatment of both.
I decided to cut-off the front down parts of the coat to achieve the tailcoat form. Nevertheless the length of the front is longer compared to the tailcoat reaching below the hips. The back is not divided into two parts, instead there is another cut-out that has been replaced by lace.
With such a dynamic and asymmetry the focus is transferred from the shoulders to the down-town of the coat; therefore, I felt no special need to reconstruct the maxi shoulder design. But this is not the end of up-cycling, of course not. As the front parts which were cut out present very useful waste, I decided to re-design those into a split back as part of the upper back tailcoat. The possibility of zipping it gives the chance of size regulation, which every woman is fond of.
Sustainability comes not only in form of up-cycling; additionally the new design of the coat is very multifunctional – the coat can easily be worn as a blazer or a blouse.
