7 minute read
Casual glam, moving into the future
from ECOPOLITAN® - No6
by Ecopolitan®
Turtlehorn’s Collection X
If you know Turtlehorn for a while, you’ll know it’s never been just about fashion. It’s about art and fashion, emotion, transformation, and creating pieces that feel like a piece of art or a story from the future. With Collection X – Volume I, designer María Voth Velasco offers a new chapter — one shaped not only by striking silhouettes and sculptural designs, but also by a deeper shift in how the brand works, thinks, and dreams and develops.
Turtlehorn’s Collection X, was celebrated last year at the Bunk Funk Fest in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The collection started with a clear vision: to imagine a more sustainable and thoughtful future for fashion, while also challenging some of the industry’s outdated norms, criticizing its high society standards. Using leftover materials like polymer yarn waste and recycled glass, the pieces are genderless, size-adaptable, and made with waste-reducing techniques. With its mix of streetwear and casual glam in shades of white, orange, purple, and grey, Collection X brings together creativity and a different touch to streetwear, responsibility, and a strong social message.
From the very beginning, Turtlehorn has explored the space between wearable art and personal storytelling. But over the last year, the designer made some major decisions — ones rooted in care, both for herself within the brand and fashion industry and for the planet. The collections always reflect their thoughts.
“At some point, I realized I had to handle too much on my own. From designing and producing to dealing with customers — especially through big multi-brand platforms, where people didn’t really understand the essence of Turtlehorn. Some didn’t know that each garment is slightly different because it’s made from upcycled materials, and it became exhausting to constantly explain that and that it’s different from a serial piece they might expect from another store. So I stepped away from all multi-brand online stores and kept only my webshop. The true Turtlehorn lovers always found us there or in person — that’s where real connection happens. Since shifting to selected physical stores and rental systems, everything feels lighter, and customers truly understand what they’re engaging with. Plus, I realized that it’s even more sustainable to the core.”
That realization sparked a shift for Turtlehorn. María decided to pull out of all third-party online platforms. From now on, Turtlehorn is available only through its own website www.turtlehorn. com and a handpicked selection of physical stores or galleries. They’re places where people can truly meet the brand, understand it, and fall in love with the pieces in person.
And with this new decision, fresh collaborations have started to grow. One of the most exciting is with Wauw Closet in Utrecht, which is a concept store known for its curated selection of unique, sustainable fashion available for rent. In partnership with stylist Nick van den Berg and his boutique Kicksaan, also based in Utrecht, Turtlehorn pieces are now part of a rotating wardrobe that allows people to experience highconcept fashion without the need to own. It’s a model that fits perfectly with today’s more conscious way of dressing, giving wearers the freedom to explore bold styles while reducing the need to constantly produce new garments. For Turtlehorn, it means less pressure on production, more circularity, more room for creativity and leaving the commerce part into other hands.
“Renting gives our pieces more lives," María says. “Someone can wear a look for a special event or performance, and then it moves on to the next person. That’s how a lot of influencers, musicians, and creatives are already using Turtlehorn — they borrow something unique, and it doesn’t just sit in a closet after. It’s a more sustainable way to dress, but also more emotional somehow, not only when it comes to shine at a special event. The clothes collect stories. And with the rental system, if something gets dirty or damaged, it gets cleaned or repaired, it’s all taken care of. I don’t have to stress, and the piece just keeps going.”
Alongside this even more sustainable shift, Turtlehorn is leaning into a new phase, one that blends innovation, research, and future-thinking. A recent project, in partnership with the Dutch label Kinkleid and supported by the WORTH Partnership project, explores how we can transform polymer and yarn waste into new materials, and use them in fashion again. This kind of circular thinking feels especially urgent now, and the team’s first outcomes were just showcased at Milan Design Week. The vision of a more futuristic Turtlehorn and
“This is something I really want to dive deeper into,” María says. “Not just designing collections, but working on research projects — As I always did, turning waste into something new and valuable, exploring new ideas, and sharing what we learn. I’m also really interested in the connection between fashion and AI, and in smart textiles. I want to create pieces that feel more futuristic and in tune with the direction the world and design is heading. – I feel like I have to go within the movement of our time.”
the new drive, also showed up in New York earlier this year, with their second production, the Wearable Art Expo (WAE) during New York Fashion Week — a bold and beautifully curated event where fashion, art, music and performance melted into one. Turtlehorn’s presentation offered visitors a glimpse into a world where garments speak, move, and transform, not just in form, but in meaning into a conceptual experience alongside other emergent designers and artists.
This is also part of a new direction the designer is taking; showing Turtlehorn pieces not just as fashion, but as unique wearable art pieces. Some of the designs are now being presented in art galleries, seen more like unique art objects than just clothing. It’s a concept that’s just starting to grow, including a recent fashion-meets-art exhibition in the heart of Barcelona, where one very special piece, The Heart of Glass, is now on display.
Back in Barcelona, a different kind of story was told — this time through film. In collaboration with Turtlehorn and a local production team with director Guillem Gené, they created a fashion film that takes a critical look at our overconsumption habits. The result is raw and poetic, with original lyrics and a strong global concept. It raises important questions about the fast pace of the fashion industry and how quickly we forget what it really costs. The film features many Turtlehorn pieces, but the standout is the iconic Shoe Jacket from the collection Survivors of the Future, featured at the last Ecopolitan edition and is available for rental, since then, many requests came in. With Collection X – Volume II coming out this year, all these changes, the personal shifts, new collaborations, research projects, and deeper storytelling, are coming together to shape a brand that feels more alive than ever. Turtlehorn isn’t about chasing trends or adding more products to the world. It’s about moving forward in its own rhythm. Slower, more thoughtful, and with a focus on reducing stress and improving life quality. Get ready for the add on collection –Volume II, a continuation of the story with an even more futuristic and innovative edge. Are you curious what’s next? ◆
photography Rick Lash, Leo Porteromodels Tommy Maksanty, Khalid Reintegra, Sol Gutierrez, Andrés Baptista, Irina Miró, Aina Monclús
