Sustainable Style Sunday is on a recycling roll, so we figured we’d continue the theme with Andrea Crews, a Paris-based creative collective whose work defies definition as solely design, art, or fashion. Their projects are based on the use and reinterpretation of the second-hand garment as a social, economic and ethical choice. One part Swap-o-rama, one part Imitation of Christ, mixed with a let’s-play-dress-up enthusiasm, they express their vision in workshops, performances, fashion shows, and eventually the commercial sale of their creations.
Recycling in design is nothing new. Our ancestors likely were the real innovators of this trend, necessity being the mother of invention. However, they were probably focused on frugality and survival whereas today’s recycling makes environmental and social statements on consumerism, waste and conformity. Not content to solely reuse the past, Eames lounging in a Courrèges dress if you will, today’s creatives from designers to crafters are twisting the past to suit their modern fancies. In fashion, this trend most notably took off with Imitation of Christ, a label which has since gone on to focus on more traditional forms of production. Picking up where they left off, in terms of pushing the most boundaries, is Andrea Crews.
If they are not making a whole collection from second-hand Nike garments, Andrea Crews are playing musical chairs or spray painting cast-off pumps neon colors. They are the sustainable style circus you dream of running away to join.
We’ve been on a real reclaimed design kick recently – not only with our Reclaiming Design panel at HauteGREEN, but with our fashion coverage at Sustainable Style Sunday. We started off introducing you to Martin Margiela Artisanal to coincide with Reclaiming Design. We touched on Terra Plana’s recycled Worn Again trainer in our recent interview on sustainability and manufacturing. And in the most recent weeks we brought you recycled designs from Posch Bags and This Old Thing? recycled menswear. + Andrea Crews
