LONDON – ‘Eco fashion gets sporty’
Wilfried Pletzinger is a German designer based in Stockholm who creates unique, custom-made clothing exclusively from recycled sportswear. I caught up with him at London’s Alternative Fashion Week where he was showcasing his latest ‘sports couture’ collection.
Hi Wilfried. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about your collection. So what got you interested in recycled clothing?
I’ve always liked taking old things and giving them a new expression - mixing old clothes with new clothes… I first started doing this in Berlin about 20 years ago and now I’m still designing alongside teaching in Stockholm.
How would you describe your current collection?
I call it ‘sport couture’. For me it is high fashion because it involves a lot of fitting and handwork. I give sportswear a totally new look. So football shirts become evening dresses, rugby shirts daywear and so on. All the garments are constructed from one or more items of recycled clothing making them entirely unique.
What are the main considerations when working with recycled clothes?
It’s certainly easier to make money when designing with new materials. Recycled clothing on the other hand takes a lot more time because you have to make sure everything fits properly and you can be quite limited by the materials available. It can be challenging but I find this way of working quite inspiring as well.
How popular is the recycled clothing movement in Sweden?
It is not as big in Sweden. There are second hand shops and vintage stores but you don’t get many designers doing this kind of thing. It was more popular in Berlin where I lived before and it seems to be a big thing in London at the moment as well.
Why do you think more and more designers are now working with recycled clothing?
I think people in fashion are starting to realise that it’s important to think about the environment and cut down on waste. That’s why I am doing this anyway. Also when you’re working with limited materials, you have to find very new solutions to problems so I find it a very creative way of working.
A video of Wilfried’s collection along with other sustainable designers at Alternative Fashion Week, London 2009 is coming to Strawberry Earth soon. Check out more of Wilfried’s work at www.w-pletzinger.se.
