Anyone thinking the terms “repurposed” and “upcycled” are jaded need only take a look at Ellen Hodakova Larsson’s designs for a change of heart. This year’s winner of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers, who creates her collections entirely from vintage finds and deadstock, offered a particularly creative, polished view of what sustainability can look like in fashion.
The collection was about collective memories, the designer explained backstage after the show, wiping away tears and embracing wellwishers. In her designs, she took familiar wardrobe references, subverting them to create a new vocabulary.
There were statement pieces like a shift dress sewn with sunglass lenses in a similar vein to the top crafted from antique spoons that recently garnered worldwide attention when Cate Blanchett wore it on the red carpet.
Other looks formed organic undulations with patchworks of hundreds of zippers. When done in brown and gold to create a shimmering evening gown, the effect was particularly striking while remaining understated. There was also a dress sculpted from leather boots stitched together, their feet, toe to toe, forming a peplum-like feature.
Paintings of landscapes around her home in Sweden saw their canvases ripped out and reshaped, as a coat or complete with a frame on a rectangular-hemmed shift dress. Vintage pearly buttons played the role of sequins, reprising one of the images in the video on a giant screen that opened the show featuring a single-button set atop a giant human eye opening and closing, as if encouraging the viewer to look at the humble object anew.
While some of the applications were quirky, by underpinning them with familiar wardrobe references, accentuated by an understated color palette full of rich browns, black and white, Hodakova’s appealing designs were original yet rooted in common vocabulary.
Classic men’s pants in humdrum brown wool saw their waistbands repurposed as a patchwork of stripes to create striking dresses. Sweater and blazer sleeves were sewn in multiple layers onto the shoulders of sweaters or to the front of skirts, while further standouts included a woven leather skirt and matching backpack paired with a simple white shirt.
With such attention to detail, the ordinary became extraordinary in Ellen Hodakova Larsson’s skillful hands.
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