Officina+39’s Circular Recycrom Dye Becomes Medium for Wearable Art
Fashion shouldn’t be a choice between sustainability and style. And lower impact inputs don’t have to mean a staid finished product.
This is the idea behind Blue of a Kind, an Italian fashion company that upcycles vintage products and scraps into new, contemporary circular garments. Beyond being a company, Blue of a Kind was conceived as a community for sustainable fashion.
Officina+39 similarly embraces circularity to lessen the eco impact of dyeing. The company’s Recycrom dyestuff range is made from pre-owned clothing and textile scraps.
Blue of a Kind and Officina+39 are now partnering to bring together their respective waste upcycling processes to save water and make a sustainable statement. The collaboration began remotely mid-pandemic, and has just had its official public launch.
To kick off this alliance, Blue of a Kind and Officina+39 tapped artist Erik Varusio to do a live painting session at Blue of a Kind’s Milan store on Jan. 27. The artist customized T-shirts from Blue of a Kind by using Recycrom as paint. Based in Vicenza, Erik has previously worked on prints, graphics and designs for brands like Diesel.
This alliance is centered on the two companies’ shared vision that the answer for lower impact apparel lies in circularity and upcycling.
“The [fashion] sector has been hit hard in recent years by the pandemic and the difficulty in finding raw materials, but opportunities have been generated to think about new partnerships and initiatives, to focus on available resources and real needs, and to invest in sustainable technologies for change,” explained Officina+39 in a release.
Click through the slideshow below to see photos from the event.
