Retail Frustrations Inspire Upcycled Fashion Brand

Notes from Chris

Episode 1050

For years, Lucia Gasparidesova knew she wanted to have her own fashion brand. She studied Fashion Design in college and worked for a well-known British clothing brand. Free time was spent sketching her own designs, and she even designed an initial collection of three outfits to present to buyers.

But there were some problems bringing it to market.

The first was cost. It cost her $500 to buy materials to produce samples, mostly to show what she could do. That wouldn’t buy anything she could actually sell, and that well-known British clothing brand she worked for didn’t pay her very well.

The second involved the fashion industry itself. The more Lucia researched, the more disillusioned she grew. The thought that the clothes she helped sell might be made in sweatshops made her shudder. Not to mention the impact all these clothes were having on the planet.

She had to do something about it. So she applied an old family saying to the problem: "Use what you have."

By then, Lucia had come across the concept of upcycling. Upcycling is all about taking old items and repurposing them to create new pieces. Upcycled clothes can be made of anything from scarves to shirts, sweaters, and pants.

However, Lucia didn't like the way most of these pieces were put together. They looked homemade. It was as though the mission of being environmentally-friendly had to come at the cost of the actual design.

That’s when she began a set of experiments. It was half a moral undertaking, and half practical. Since she didn't have the money to invest in her next collection, she got creative. She asked for donations of old jeans, guessing that most people had at least one pair kicking around their closet that they never wore.

And she was right.

Armed with her locally-sourced fabric—and a sewing machine she snagged for $20 at a thrift store—she got to work. Lucia spent about a year and a half experimenting with different methods and styles. 

But she still didn’t like how it turned out. Even with her fashion design training, the pieces once again looked like they’d been upcycled. You could almost point to what each piece of fabric had once been. And that wasn’t the point.

Everything changed when Lucia started making tote bags. In retrospect, it made perfect sense. Tote bags sit at that perfect intersection of timeless and trendy, meaning just about everybody has one. But most modern tote bags were not designed for extended, sustainable use. They're often made from cheap cotton, and they're not stitched to last. But denim? That stuff is designed to be tough.

As a bonus: Lucia knew that denim went with just about any outfit.

She made her tote bags as custom pieces, and she sold them to friends and acquaintances. She did some marketing through organic social media posts, but mostly she relied on people she knew.

Within a year, she wanted to expand. She hoped to undo some of the damage the industry was causing, instead of contributing to it.

She called her business PROLONG, based on the idea that existing items of clothing, which are no longer in use, can be transformed into completely new products.

Lucia now works part-time at a local co-op vegan cafe. The rest of her time is spent sourcing fabrics and designing new products. Plans for the future include moving into a new studio, where she can work on turning Prolong—and saving the planet—into her full-time job.

 

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• PROLONG: checkout Lucia's current upcycled bag offerings on the PROLONG website.
• Big Cartel: is the e-commerce platform (for makers and artists) Lucia uses to sell her bags.

 

SEE ALSO:

• IT Manager Stitches Seamless Sewing Side Hustle: Needing a way to reconnect with her creative side, this IT manager learns to thread her hustle into her life.
• Every Dog Has Its Side Hustling Day: Two sisters team up to create a side business with a social good component. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there… are you working on your hustle?
• Multiple-Use Plastics Take Big Bite for the Environment: A designer reinvents her life and work, starting an eco-friendly line of multiple-use plastics. It’s good for the environment, AND it’s highly profitable.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,