Upcycling is a form of circular production where waste materials are reused, repurposed, and refashioned into new forms that are of equal or greater value than the original materials. Unlike other forms of circular production, which often requires highly specialized equipment and training, upcycling is an accessible, low-cost design intervention. It is available to anyone with a creative vision. As a result, makers not typically associated with the traditional fashion economy have found their way into this new sustainable industry. Taking responsibility for these materials is a critical first step toward reducing the quantity of discarded materials and to ending what has become known as “waste colonialism”: the practice of exporting used textiles and clothing to low- and middle- income countries. Reducing textile waste is especially significant for the United States, the world’s largest consumer of fashion.
Practicing upcycling is not new; independent designers, artists, crafters, and home sewers have been transforming existing garments since time immemorial. Historically, upcycling was practiced primarily in the domestic sphere, oftentimes driven by sentimentality or scarcity, to keep heirlooms in circulation or to conserve materials during times of societal turmoil and economic hardship. Paradoxically, today’s surge in commercial upcycling responds to the vast overabundance of pre- and post-consumer materials created amid unsustainable rates of production, consumption, and rapid disposal.
Presently, the dominant model for fashion manufacturing is a linear “take, make, throw” system. In this model, materials are extracted, used to make products, and then ultimately discarded. As the majority of resource depletion and pollution happens at the production and disposal phases, this causes significant damage. As rates of fashion consumption and disposal continue to rise, so rises the toll that this wasteful model has on people and planet. In their ground-breaking book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make things (2002), authors Michael Braungart and William McDonough proposed a revolutionary vision of what the future of sustainable manufacturing may look like. Advocating to fundamentally alter how things are made, the authors lay out a framework for producing in a closed loop circular system. In this model, rather than being discarded, unwanted materials are recaptured and used again. Upcycling is an important component of this emerging circular economy. By prioritizing the use of “waste” and post-consumer materials in their fashion lines, upcyclers negate the need for further resource extraction and keep valuable materials out of the landfill. The upcycled fashion movement plays a critical role in demonstrating the viability of alternative production models while simultaneously challenging definitions of waste.
Past and Present Lives of Upcycled Fashion is organized thematically within materials used in upcycling and the processes by which they are transformed. These thematic sections include Commodity Bags, Home Textiles, Deadstock, and Waste as material sources for inspiration and the techniques of Surface Design, Assemblage, and Fine Arts. Each case celebrates the makers, materials, and creativity of contemporary upcycled brands.
Prior to the creation of this digital exhibit, Past and Present Lives of Upcycled Fashion was mounted as a physical exhibition at Cornell University. The show was open to the public in the College of Human Ecology building from May 9 through September 15, 2023.
The original exhibit can be explored in the pictures below or you may take a 3D tour by clicking here.
