Re-Work It Baby!

So, you're giving mass-production the cold shoulder, you're too skint for designer and you can't be bothered with vintage?  Well, how about getting your sorry little butt into a bit of 'post vintage' by art and fashion collective Andrea Crews?  This is the description the hip Parisian collaborators are coining for their eco-edgy collection of re-worked second-hand fashion.

Finding fame back in 2002 with their 'temporary workshop installation' at Le Palais de Tokyo art gallery, the collective, headed up by founder Maroussia Rebecq, came up with the concept of transforming a 4 tonne mountain of discarded clothing into a unique collection of wearable art, via a stack of sewing machines, mannequins and a finely curated team of local artists, designers and sewers.

5 years on, and everyone from Tokyo club kids to New York eco-fashionistas are working their look.

Not exactly the kind of label you expect from the home of haute couture, but who can blame Andrea Crews for fashioning a moony at the establishment?

Good for you as these designs (anything from a pair of grandpa trousers transformed into mini overalls or a baggy sweatshirt re-worked into an evening dress) are original or limited edition and have been created via collaborations between hot young things from art and design.

Good for the environment as every item has been salvaged, revalued, recycled and transformed into something fresh and exciting in their Parisian studio. The collections, alongside the installations and workshops offer a more ethical way of consuming and serve to successfully highlight the excessive consumption of new clothes and the lack of social consciousness in the commercial fashion world. They also work closely with schools and humanitarian organisations to encourage sustainable development, activism and social engagement whilst achieving creative goals. The UK alone sends 1 million tonnes of textiles to landfill every year.

Price Andrea Crews Dresses from 120 Euros, Shoes 90 Euros, Overalls from 90 Euros, Tops from 90 Euros.

Buy Online at www.andreacrews.com.
I Heart NYC, 262 Mott Street, NYC 10012.
Mario's Left Tanker, 1F2-29-7 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, 150-0011 Tokyo.