Upcycling designer Louise Lyngh Bjerregaard speaks about her work, the state of the fashion industry and where we go from here.
PHOTOGRAPHy_ ANTHONY SEKLAOUI
STYLIST_ ALLY MACRAE
MODEL_ IRIS delcourt (VIVa)
IRIS WEARS_ BONIBON ONE-SHOULDER BLOUSE AND SKIRT SET_HAND KNIT DEADSTOCK YARN_ LOUISE LYNGH BJERREGAARD_ FW20
LLB_ Upcycling has the potential to be the new luxury. Upcycling for me is re-working existing garments, working with deadstock and include scrap yarns in our knits. Almost no one piece is exactly the same. Otherwise the items are produced in limited editions. We have made a Green Sherpa Puffer Bustier for SSENSE where only 8 are available because the fabric is deadstock. The knitted Bonibon set displayed in this editorial is a deadstock yarn and we only have three of them for sale.
LLB_ Amongst other things, I use upcycling as a way to challenge the shape in my garments. This is something I find very interesting and it keeps us ‘on our toes’ in the atelier, because maybe the vision is to create a dress or a tailored suit, but the amount of fabric available lure us to re-think and re-discover what it can and will be.
LLB_ Personally, I feel like the responsibility of fashion as a communication tool is very important and to try to break the fashion cycle as we know it. To reflect on the times we live in and to take responsibility for the fact that fashion should also be more than bestselling t-shirts and sneakers, it should keep moving forward and create a sense of utopia and freedom.
LLB_ To end all fast fashion companies. I asked my team as well and here is what they would change:
1_ More handmade and more local industry partnerships.
2_ Fewer collections per year.
3_ The "normality" of fast fashion and mass production.
4_ Better working conditions / production conditions, equal and stable pay, no exposure to toxic chemicals.
5_ To re-think, re-create and re-use more. To focus more on upcycling of textiles.
6_ The lack of empathy, respect and compassion for employees in the industry; from factory workers, to assistants, models and designers.
7_ Seasons and mass production.
Louise Lyngh Bjerregaard is a Danish artist and designer who lives and works in Copenhagen.
Issue No. 1_ HOLD THE FUTURE
