A weekly community driven conversation that focuses on The Canvas' community of companies, brands and partners working towards a more mindful and transparent world.
This week The Canvas' Town Hall focuses on community brands that have build their business around upcycling denim, and thus tapping into one of the largest up/recyclable fabric supplies in the fashion industry.
NOORISM
Noor Bchara is a New York based Fashion Designer, sustainability consultant and educator, specializing in the scalability of upcycling and repurposing. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and Polimoda in Florence, Italy. Noor got her start in Fashion by interning at Marc Jacobs and has since designed for Zac Posen, TAHARI ASL, Ellen Tracy and Kate Spade. She founded NOORISM in 2015 after being disheartened by the volume of poorly-made, practically disposable clothes produced by the Fashion industry every year. NOORISM is a Brooklyn based women’s wear brand that produces clothing and accessories using repurposed jeans, all made in New York.
She is a former Venture Fellow at the Brooklyn Fashion Design Accelerator, a Pratt initiative. Noor is also an Alumni of the Arts Envoy Program where she travels through the US Embassy and teaches about upcycling in other countries. She most recently founded Upcycle Design School where she offers on-demand video classes as well as group coaching all about upcycled design and is available for speaking engagements.
The Untrend Shop
The Untrend Shop is an upcycled vintage denim brand that creates one of a kind wearable art from unwanted thrifted denim garments and recycled texile scraps. The goal is to re-imagine what ordinary denim garments can look like, all while avoiding harmful production practices or using any new materials. This brand is currently a one women show, created entirely by Aly Reinert from her Studio in Brooklyn, NY. Aly has a degree in textile and apparel design, and decided to start The Untrend Shop after working in corporate fashion and seeing first hand all the waste that is created by the industry. She also saw how much clothing was being discarded each year by consumers and became passionate about upcycling these unwanted garments into something new and unique.
Tove by Design
Over the years, Tove worked at the drawing table and the glass studio while representing her glass company Egenart, located outside of Oslo, and AO Glass in Vermont, at markets, stores, and shows. Tove felt that she was missing out on that great garment that would make her feel put together and look “the part” of her trade. A few years ago, Tove with Annika Axelson and Amanda Nordin’s help, developed their garment she had always wanted—a wrap-skirt that folds in the back with front pockets. It became The Maker Skirt, for folks at work and play.
