I saw this on Miss Moss yesterday (apologies if you did, too!) and had to give it its own post rather than saving it for an Elsewhere link. The Third Hand is a collection of pieces by a young Chinese designer (a Central Saint Martins grad) named Momo Wang, entirely upcycled from second-hand clothing. The Chinese textiles are amazing, of course, but mostly there are lots of idiosyncratic pullovers, headpieces and kimonos fashioned from old sweaters that have been patchworked, embellished or unraveled entirely. Don’t miss the turban wound of still-kinky wool, with a pompom at the forehead. The photos by Shuwei Liu are so beautiful; same with the video.
My oft-mentioned pal Leigh is a master of this sort of thing — sewing leather bags out of old jackets and so on — albeit at the opposite end of the aesthetic spectrum from young Momo. You should see the elegant black ribbed cowl she knit from the yarn of a cashmere sweater whose sleeves were worn out.
Between them, I’m inspired to do some upcycling.
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Yay, upcycling!
Love upcycling. It’s such a challenge and so much fun. These are amazing!
They’re not my look, obviously, but I’m inspired by the inventiveness. I could stand to be more inventive.
Oh, I don’t know Karen, you are pretty darn inventive!
Wow. Love the photos. Especially Girl With Rooster.
I was suggesting the other day that a friend make leg warmers from the sleeves of thrift-store sweaters.
Portrait with rooster is my favorite photo of the bunch.
Could get lost for days in those images. I find myself attracted to knit pieces that combine some sort of leather embellishment.