Upcycling Clothes

as sustainable self-expression

WRITTEN BY ELLA NORTON ILLUSTRATED BY CECILIA PALMER DESIGNER ZOE HARDISTER

Anna Bassman, a sophomore at UO, flipped through clothes at Buffalo Exchange until she found a plaid dress that she thought held potential. She bought it for $10and transformed it into a two-piece set. She believes Cher from “Clueless” would wear it if she lived in today’s world.

“I definitely never have an idea of what I want to do when I walk into a store,” Bassman said. “I kind of look at something and am like ‘Oh, this would be a cute skirt,’ or ‘This would be a cute set… And then I’ll kind of stare at it for a little bit [to] figure out if it’s a good enough quality to be tampered with, because thrifting is up in the air.”

Bassman started upcycling her junior year of high school. She was inspired by other students, who made their own clothes, and her love of fashion. Bassman began thrifting to find bases for clothing she could transform and make her own.

“My sense of style has definitely developed, and gotten stronger, since I’ve gotten older,” Bassman said. “Seeing how you can incorporate your own personality into your clothing, I feel like it’s super important for self-expression.”

Bassman thinks the recent fashion trends from celebrities such as Harry Styles and Billie Eilish have encouraged people to become more bold in what they’re wearing, which can encourage them to try upcycling.

“I know when I first started people weren’t super open to it,” Bassman said. “My parents were like ‘That looks kind of weird,’ and I was like ‘No, on the right person it would look really good.’”

Similarly to Bassman, Eliana Kertzner, a freshman at UO, has been upcycling for nine years since she taught herself to sew from her grandmother’s sewing machine. For Kertzner, upcycling means transforming a piece of clothing.

“[It can be] anywhere from taking a piece of clothing and

changing it in a minor way, like adding ruffles or something, to completely cutting up pieces of clothing to use the fabric for something else,” Kertzner said. Kertzner utilizes upcycling to create her sustainable business, Eliana Makes Clothes, @elianamakesclothes on Instagram. Over the years she’s made corsets, dresses from bed sheets and patchwork pants. She hopes to make business overcoats in the future.

“I’m in product design and my goal is sustainability; and I think upcycling is a really cool way to do that,” Kertzner said. “[Making] material takes so many resources, especially when you’re talking about things like denim, and, so, to use stuff that has already been made and, to make it into something else like that, I’m really excited about that.”

Kertzner believes that the pandemic has inspired more people to try creative pursuits, and she hopes the trend continues.

“I hope that it becomes much more common to buy upcycled clothing as opposed to clothing that’s new,” Kertzner said. “I hope it becomes more affordable because I think what is happening now is a lot of people will do something very simple, but then rack up the price.”

Kaitlyn Cafarelli, a freshman at UO, also began upcycling as a way to be sustainable with fashion. She also upcycles furniture from TV sets to side tables.

“Initially, when I started it, I was kind of just doing it because it gave me more freedom with my art,” Cafarelli said. “Also, for the environmental aspect. I started researching a lot into that, and I started to find new ways to upcycle my own old clothing that I didn’t wear anymore.”

Cafarelli describes her style as 70s designs and some streetwear. She searches estate sales and thrift store bins for fabric – like Kertzner and Bassman. Cafarelli hopes that the upcycling trend will continue in the future – especially if people become more aware of the environmental impacts of fast fashion.

Like Cafarelli, Shay Meltzer, a freshman at UO, began by repurposing her own clothing during quarantine after seeing the trend on TikTok.

“I started with really basic stuff just like learning how to crop and hem shirts and things like that,” Meltzer said. “I have very short legs so [I’m going] through my closet, and I’ve been fixing a lot of my pants and skirts that I have.”

Meltzer said she enjoys upcycling because it’s a good way to pass time and be sustainable. However, she does say we need to be careful not to cross a line.

“You have these people that can afford to have nicer clothing, but they go to thrift stores and take these supplies that people need. I wouldn’t support or condone that,” Meltzer said. “Or you have people buying clothes that are really big to turn into something that is really small to fit them – but then the people who need the clothes don’t have access to them. I think it’s just important that people educate themselves and are aware. Yes, it’s great to upcycle, but you might be taking away from people who need it.”

Meltzer believes that many people want to upcycle but they aren’t really sure where to begin, to which she recommends just messing around.

“I think the easiest thing to do is watch some videos, get some inspiration [and] see what interests you,” Metlzer said. “I would assume that most people have something in the back of their closet that they can mess with and learn on.”