Home textiles are among the most popular materials used by contemporary fashion upcyclers. This is particularly true of vintage home textiles. Curtains, blankets, towels, napkins, and tablecloths are valued for their artistry, quality, and novelty. Larger textiles such as bed sheets are not unlike fabric yardage, making a wider range of designs more possible. For many upcycled items, it is unclear that they are made of reused textiles. However, it is often apparent that fashion pieces made from home textiles have been upcycled. This recognition of the materials’ previous form is valued among customers who appreciate that their garment has a story. The popularity of these prized materials has resulted in limited availability. This means that designers are generally only able to produce garments from these materials as one-of-one pieces. This exclusivity has advanced customized purchasing models such as made-to-order and collaboratively designed items.
Silk Top and Floral Pants
Threads of Habit
@threadsofhabit / threadsofhabit.com
This ensemble features a cropped silk top with high waisted cotton pants. The top is made from a vibrant scarf. The pants feature a repeated design of checks, stripes, and red poppies. Rather than being a repeat print on yardage of fabric, designer Halima Garrett accomplished this look by sewing twelve vintage napkins together. The napkins, designed by American textile artist Vera Newman, are highly sought after by upcycled designers for their beauty and quality. As a lifelong thrifter, New Jersey-based Garrett searches secondhand shops both in her home state as well as New York for unique materials such as these to upcycle. The florals and geometric prints seen in this ensemble typify the aesthetic her brand Threads of Habit is known for.
YSL Terry Cloth Ensemble
Zingara
@zingaravintage
Erin Silvers, the designer of this look, is well-known for creating designs such as this from vintage towels by luxury brands as well as classic vintage towel brands. This four-piece ensemble is created from 1960s Yves Saint Laurent’s YSL terry cloth towels. Alongside Ralph Lauren, YSL was one of the first design houses to license their brand to home goods. Over the past eight years, Silvers has amassed over 1000 towels in her collection as it can take dozens to create a perfectly matched garment. In addition to designing apparel from these textiles, her longtime love of terry cloth has inspired her to become an avid researcher of the history and artists behind the materials she uses. As sourcing these highly coveted towels can take time, there is often a waitlist for her custom pieces which come in fifteen distinct styles. Silvers has also extended her design work into home goods, using terry cloth to upholster vintage furniture and other home goods.
Kantha Quilt Jacket and Jeans
Namai
@ namai_studio / namai-studio.com
Kantha quilts are blankets created from saris and other embroidered textiles that are sewn together. This textile is the inspiration behind longtime designer Bianca Kuttickattu’s fashion brand Namai. In designing her first range for this line, Kuttickattu felt intuitively drawn towards the colors and fabrics of saris. By partnering with local artisans in India, she honors the traditional craftsmanship of her ancestors. Namai is her celebration of heritage, sustainable fashion, and timeless design. Kuttickattu began this line during the pandemic and continues to upcycle Kantha quilts into new fashion forms. Fully reversible jackets like the one featured here are Namai’s signature item; however, all production scraps are saved and later utilized in smaller pieces such as totes and pouches. Scraps have also been incorporated into the side seams of these jeans, transforming the pants by giving them a new silhouette.
Towel Hat
Picnicwear
@picnicwear
This terry cloth hat, created by slow fashion brand Picnicwear, is created with scraps from six vintage towels in various shades of green. On the interior of the hat’s fringed brim, the designer has intentionally left the original manufacturing tag. Here we can see that this 100% cotton towel was originally created by Fashion Manor for the department store JCPenney. Initially, Picnicwear’s designer and founder Dani Des Roches, predominantly created her designs using vintage towels, as is the case with this hat. Since that time, she has grown the brand to include a variety of other reclaimed and deadstock materials. Des Roches attributes her desire to create in this way as a response to the wasteful and unsustainable practices she witnessed during her ten-year career in the fashion industry.
Cropped Button-Up Top
3 Women
@3womenco
This top is made from combining a 1930s embroidered hand towel with an antique rice sack. The yellow and white colors in the appliques forming the boat sails are repeated in the sleeves and cuffs, with pieces of the napkin’s blue fabric incorporated into the shirt’s collar. The faded but still visible text on the sack identifies it as having once been used to hold rice. The brand that makes this top, 3 Women, are known for their ability to cohesively combine vintage and antique textiles into wearable, contemporary silhouettes. As longtime vintage dealers, they have a great breadth of knowledge about the textiles they use and their history. This appreciation can be seen expressed throughout their varied designs.
