UPCYCLING Gone Global | T-shirt Restyles

[Ethical Fashion Forum]

T-shirt Restyles

Recycling, upcycling, restyling, redesigning and recreating; call it what you will, it has gone global.

By Ethical Fashion Forum Contributor Rosie Helson

Melbourne in Australia is one creative hub that encourages this practice. Of course, giving a piece of clothing in the back of your wardrobe a new life by mending it, adding to it or even changing it completely is nothing new. What is exciting about it now is that it has been made easier to do for everyone with YouTube videos and annotated photograph tutorials. No longer just for the economically or environmentally savvy, upcycling existing items of clothing goes beyond saving the purchase of a new item and can actually be an outlet for budding fashion designers, with increasingly sophisticated styles appearing.

 

Erica Louise Is an upcycling expert based in Melbourne. She writes a Recycled Fashion blog and here gives five ideas for refashioning a basic t-shirt:

 

1. Into a dress by adding strips of fabric to the bottom.
2. Into a halter-neck top and headbands by removing the neckline and sleeves.
3. Into a ruffle bag or grocery bag- also helping reduce plastic bags.
4. Into little girls dress, which allows creativity in its creation and whilst being worn!
5. With embellishments to give it a unique design and a new life.

 

Discover more designs and creative ideas HERE.