A Style To Look Out For: Reconstructed
“Reconstructed clothing is used or vintage clothing that has been redesigned and resewn into a new garment.”
Zara // Striped Studio Sweater
However, many brands have taken this idea of recycling old clothes and resewing them into something new and turned it into a style, one that uses new clothes and turns them into something cooler. This leaves a lot to work with, and some brands have been able to get very creative with the ways they take apart clothes and sew them together into something totally different.
Perhaps one of the most colorful and extreme examples of this comes from the brand Needles. They are known for their array of elaborate flannels that feature fabric from at least eight or more different flannels, and have even tried a similar look with leather jackets. Another brand that is at the forefront of the reconstructed style right now is the designer brand Vetements. Their collaboration with Levi’s questions the ways in which clothes are supposed to be constructed by cutting up many of Levi’s famous denim pants and jackets, and putting them back together in a different way. Unfortunately, both of these brands have quite a high price point, so unless you have a few hundred or thousand dollars laying around, I would stick to admiring.
Urban Outfitters // Polo Ralph Lauren Patchwork Jersey
Thankfully, there are many common and affordable brands that have given their try at the reconstructed look. For example, Kappa recently came out with this t-shirt, along with a similar hoodie. Urban Outfitters has had their share of reconstructed looks, with pieces like this patchwork fur jacket and this flannel. Polo Ralph Lauren released this patchwork jersey, while Zara has this cool multicolored sweater. If these also break the budget, Asos has a ton of reconstructed clothes for pretty affordable prices for both men and women. It’s also great to check websites like Ebay, Etsy, and Depop where users sell items they find or create. If you are more into designer or higher end options, then Grailed and Shopstyle have tons of selections. (They also have affordable pieces if you sort by lowest price first).
One of the best ways to discover new reconstructed pieces is to search for keywords such as spliced, patchwork, reconstructed, and cut and sew.
Urban Outfitters // Patchwork Fur Jacket
Finally, one of the great things about the reconstructed look is that it has no rules. You can take any pieces of clothing or fabric, and as long as you can somehow attach them together, then you can make a brand-new piece. The beauty of this is that anyone can do it – as long as you have basic sewing skills. You can make clothes similar to how so many brands are doing it, but for much cheaper and with your own creative discretion. If you don’t know how to sew, don’t fret – there are many great tutorials on YouTube, such as this series that I watched when learning myself. If you don’t have a sewing machine, there is a good chance your mom does (or some other relative), or you can buy a decent sewing machine for less than $100, or even a very basic one for less than $30. If you don’t know where to start, here are some tutorials on how to make reconstructed jeans and a reconstructed hoodie in the Vetements style. So, next time you have a few shirts you want to get rid of, consider reconstructing them, and creating a unique and stylish shirt that you can wear and be proud of.
Words By Andrew Powers