„From Somewhere“ upcycles pre-consumer waste – high-end fashion and textile surplus – into stunning uniqe garmentsand counters the trend to see clothes as disposable items. Founder Orsola de Castro started in 1997 with reviving of an old cashmere jumper that was full of holes. Instead of covering them, she crocheted around them and enriched it through design. Since then upcycling evolved from a niche to a well accepted concept – so what is next? Next Friday Orsola de Castro is talking about the future of upcycling in Berlin – big thank you to Orsola who answered our questions very openly!

 

Next week you come to Berlin to show the audience how to revive old clothes. Is that more than a hommage to your own history in the sense that people should learn to upcycle on their own?

 

ITS A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH – REVISITING OUR HISTORY TO TELL OUR STORY AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THEIR OWN CLOTHES DIFFERENTLY. CHANGING THE WAY WE BUY CLOTHES AND THE WAY WE PERCEIVE THEM IS AN INTEGRAL PART IN MOVING FORWARD TO A FUTURE WITH LESS WASTE AND A MORE CONSCIOUS APPROACH TO THE IMPACT OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY – WE CAN ALL START TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

 

You learned crocheting skills as a child. Do you think that the generation that grew up with H&M is unfamiliar with a sewing box? Are they to some extent de-skilled?

 

THERE IS CERTAINLY A WHOLE GENERATION THAT HAS LOST SKILLS AND VALUES AS A RESULT OF CHEAP CLOTHING, MASS AVAILABILITY AND THE MESSAGE THAT HAS BEEN PORTRAYED ABOUT CLOTHES.

 

IN THE 80’S FOR INSTANCE, WHEN CUSTOMISING WAS STILL RIFE IN A POST PUNK YOUTH CULTURE, WE WOULD ALTER OUR CLOTHES AS A MATTER OF PRACTICE, FROM CUTTING T-SHITS TO MAKING OUR OWN SKINNY JEANS; NOW ‚LOOKS‘ ARRIVE READY AVAILABLE, DRIVEN BY RETAILERS LONG BEFORE WE HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE THEM UP OURSELVES.

 

BUT I AM HAPPY TO SAY THAT THE COMMUNITY OF MAKERS, YOUNG PEOPLE RE- EMBRACING SEWING MACHINES, MENDING AND TRANSFORMING, IS GROWING THANKS TO BLOGGERS AND INTERNET CONNECTIONS. I LOVE THIS MARRIAGE OF ARTISANAL SKILLS AND TECHNOLOGY, SPREADING OLD WISDOM THROUGH VERY MODERN COMMUNICATION CHANNELS.

 

Do you think that through sewing, mending, patching people learn to value their clothing more than before because they experience how hard it is to make or repair clothing?

 

I THINK MENDING AND REPURPOSING IS MORE ABOUT EMPOWERMENT. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE SELF SUFFICIENCY AND CREATIVITY IMPLICATED IN USING YOUR OWN HANDS AND YOUR OWN CREATIVE PROCESS TO MAKE THINGS. YOU GO THROUGH CHALLENGING YOURSELF, LEARNING, ABILITY, EMOTION, HISTORY, ORIGINALITY…ALL IN THE ACT OF MAKING.

 

CRAFTS RECONNECT YOU TO CLOTHES, THATS FOR SURE, AND HOPEFULLY YES, IT WILL ALSO MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEM, BUT ESSENTIALLY I THINK THE DRIVE TOWARDS MENDING AND CUSTOMISING IS PART OF A LARGER MESSAGING WHICH IS BECOMING MORE EMBEDDED.

 

ITS NOT BECAUSE MAKING CLOTHES IS DIFFICULT THAT WE BECOME MORE CONNECTED, ITS BECAUSE ITS SO INCREDIBLE HOW QUICKLY IT HAS BECOME UNNECESSARY TO MAKE OR MEND OUR OWN CLOTHING. I FEEL PEOPLE ARE CONNECTING AROUND THAT ISSUE, THAT WE HAVE ALMOST BEEN TAUGHT HOW TO FORGET THAT MAKING AND MENDING AND TRANSFORMING TO SUIT OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND TASTES CAN BE A PART OF THE WAY WE INHABIT OUR CLOTHES.

 

Could it be that you teach people a stronger emotional engagement with clothes?

 

I TRY TO, AS I THINK THAT IS A KEY. TO BUY BECAUSE YOU LOVE, OR NEED, OR DESIRE, AS OPPOSED AS JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN. WEARING CLOTHES LONGER HAS A MEASURABLE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, AND SLOWING DOWN THE INDUSTRY IS ALSO KEY TO BUYING BETTER QUALITY, WHICH IN TURN, COULD EFFECT SOCIAL CHANGES (REINTRODUCING SKILLS AND PROTECTING LOCAL ARTISANS FOR INSTANCE).

 

THE THROWAWAY CULTURE, THE LACK OF RESPECT FOR PEOPLE’S WAGES AND THE ENVIRONMENT WHICH ARE CONSIDERED A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE OF OUR SPEEDED-UP CONSUMERISM, WOULD BE A GREAT DEAL REBALANCED IF WE UNDERSTOOD THE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES BETTER.

 

You come in person. How important is it to teach people personally instead of offering an internet tutorial?

 

I HADNT THOUGHT ABOUT INTERNET TUTORIALS. ITS A BRILLIANT IDEA! THANK YOU. I AM COMING TO BERLIN BECAUSE I ENJOY THE DIALOGUE, AND BECAUSE I ENJOY SPENDING TIME WITH THE GIRLS AT THE UPCYCLING FASHION STORE, AND BECAUSE I LIKE BEING WITH LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS, AND ABOVE ALL BECAUSE I ADORE BERLIN.

 

“Ending is better than mending” – a quote from Aldous Huxleys “Brave new world” – means it is better to buy new stuff than to fix old things. This seems to be more up to date than ever before. Can one owns actions (doing something with your hands) oppose the wish to have something new? Is it possible to fight the mindless consumption with artisan-DIY-skills?

 

YES REALLY, GREAT QUOTE TO EXPLAIN MODERN MADNESS AND TOTALLY A SIGN OF OUR TIME. TO ME ITS MORE ABOUT CREATING AN ALTERNATIVE. WE WONT GROW OUT OF THIS SYSTEM EASILY, WE WONT, AS CONSUMERS, SUDDENLY ABANDON THIS EASE AND SUPERFLUOUSNESS WHICH SURROUNDS US WHEN IT COMES TO BUYING. BUT WE CAN FIND OTHER WAYS, AND SPREAD THEM.

 

MAYBE IT IS A COLLECTIVE FIGHT, A MOVEMENT TOWARDS A STRONGER CONSCIOUSNESS, AND MAYBE ITS ABOUT REDISCOVERING OUR OWN INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL AND INDIVIDUALISM AFTER SO MUCH MINDLESS MASS PRODUCTION AND CONSUMERISM. WE HAVE OPEN SOURCE TO SET AN EXAMPLE. THINGS WILL MOVE ON FROM THERE, I HOPE.

 

I really admire your program of reusing unwanted stuff – it is a wonderful creative design solution for an environmental challenge. Some pieces are really stunning, but difficult to wear. Is upcycling really a solution for my everyday wardrobe? MaybeI need to rethink what is wearable!

 

WELL I THINK THAT OVER THE YEARS WE HAVE MADE SOME PRETTY ODD THINGS (SUCH AS THE SPEEDO COLLECTION) BUT SOME VERY WEARABLE STUFF ALSO. I DONT KNOW YOUR WARDROBE, PERHAPS IF YOU INTRODUCE ME TO IT I CAN DIRECT YOU TO SOME OTHER UPCYCLISTS AS WELL?

 

Do you think that upcycling is also a receipe for the big player of the industry? They already experiment with take-back-schemes, recycling and “waste collections”. But aren´t they the driving force behind the problem that we are knee-deep in textile waste?

 

RECUPERATING THROUGH UPCYCLING IS A DESIGN SOLUTION AND A METHOD. AND NOT A VERY WELL RESEARCHED ONE AT THAT. IN PARTICULAR, IT IMPLIES THINGS BEING SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AS WELL AS AN INEVITABLE SLOWING DOWN MIXED WITH RE-SKILLING AND NEW TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES – AS SUCH IT IS UNLIKELY TO BECOME AS WIDESPREAD AS WE MIGHT LIKE IT TO BE. IT IS ALSO, VERY DEFINITELY, A DESIGN SIGNATURE, WITH ITS OWN VERY WELL DEFINED AESTHETIC.

 

UNTIL TEXTILES WILL BECOME MORE EXPENSIVE (THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE OF THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW), UNTIL IT MAKES ECONOMIC (RATHER THAN ENVIRONMENTAL) SENSE TO REUSE EXISTING MATERIALS BEFORE WE ORDER MORE, THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY WILL NOT SLOW ON VIRGIN TEXTILE PRODUCTION AND COMPANIES WILL NOT ADDRESS WASTE IN ANY CONSISTENT WAY. THE ONUS NOW SEEMS TO BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONSUMER (THROUGH VARIOUS AND RELATIVELY UNSUCCESSFUL ‚BRING BACK‘ SCHEMES) WHICH IS QUITE WRONG. HOWEVER, THERE IS INCREASED INVESTMENTS IN CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS AND RECYCLING, SO, HOPEFULLY UPCYCLING WILL, TO SOME EXTENT, BECOME INTEGRATED AS WE PROGRESS TOWARDS STANDARDS IN SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT.

 

Even if we are more creative with leftovers – upcycling will not end the dirty and unethical practices of the textile industry, will it?

 

IT CANT REALLY, BECAUSE IT IS DIFFICULT TO MAKE SUCH AN EFFECTIVE, CREATIVE, ARTISANAL AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY METHOD ANY DIFFERENT TO WHAT IT IS, WITH ITS PLUS SIDES AND LIMITATIONS.

 

The Greenpeace-detox-campaign put a lot of pressure on the industry to speed up their progress. Do you think it was efficient?

 

DEFINITELY.

 

Why did you sign the Detox manifesto?

 

THERE ARE CERTAIN ISSUES, SUCH AS WORKING CONDITIONS AND WAGES, SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT AND TOXICITY IN OUR WATER SUPPLY, THAT MUST BE TACKLED HEAD ON. I WOULD NEVER HAVE CONSIDERED NOT ADDING MY NAME, AND MY VOICE WHENEVER POSSIBLE, TO THE GREENPEACE DETOX CAMPAIGN.

 

I am curious – as a mum of four – do you teach your kids to cook, to sew and do handicrafts?

 

MY ELDEST DAUGHTER IS PART OF A TRIO OF BLOGGERS ‚BY HAND LONDON'; THEY SELL PATTERNS FOR CLOTHES MAKING AND DO INTERNET AND PHYSICAL SEW-ALONGS AND SEWING TUTORIALS. MY SECOND DAUGHTER IS AN ILLUSTRATOR (SPECIALISING IN MINIATURES) – SHE DID THE PICTURES FOR THE UPCYCLING FASHION STORE ‚MENDING‘ EVENT.

 

MY 14 YEAR SON IS A MUSICIAN, AND BAKES CAKES CONSTANTLY (EVER SINCE, WHEN HE WAS A CHILD, I TOLD HIM HE WAS ONLY ALLOWED TO EAT SUGAR THAT WAS USED IN FOOD COOKED BY HIMSELF) SO WE LITERALLY, EAT SPONGES, SACHER TORTE, COOKIES, MUFFINS…YOU NAME IT, HE’LL BAKE IT. AND MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER IS ALSO A PHENOMENAL LITTLE CHEF, AND SEWS, AND DANCES, AND PLAYS THE GUITAR. ALTHOUGH WE ACTUALLY HOPE SHE MIGHT WANT TO BE A LAWYER.

 

WE ALL WEAR CLOTHES THAT BELONG TO EACH OTHER, MY SON INCLUDED.