Fleurre of Fed Upcycle, a Bristol based independent brand, designs one of a kind garments using second hand clothing and found materials. Her pieces are bold and striking. She uses techniques like hand-stitching, patchwork, and embellishment to create one of a kind collectible pieces. Our project together was a dream collaboration! I asked for a full-blown neon creation, and Fleurre created a jacket-dress that left me so giddy, I bought two matching hats! I’m addicted. Check out @fed_upcycle for the limited and one of a kind drops, and reach out if you are a color maximalist with an edgy side. 100/10!
DC: What is your favorite color and why?
Fleurre: I love pink because I feel like it’s the most politically charged colour. It’s surrounded by gender performance, so I love to use it subversively to bring attention to gender inequalities.
DC: How do you think upcycling design differs from working with new materials?
Fleurre: I think it encourages more creativity because you’re not working with a blank canvas. There might be marks or damage and you need to think about whether to mend, cover, or incorporate into the design. There also might not be enough material for a project, so you have to get creative with patchworking, or adapting designs.
For me upcycling is more free, because you can go with what the item is telling you, rather than being confined to a set of instructions.
DC: Tell us about your collaboration with DomaChroma Magazine!
Fleurre: This was a really cool collaboration because, although I typically work with a lot of colour, the brief for this custom piece was for as much neon as possible. So in that way it encouraged me to push a little outside of my usual routines which was a fun exercise. Pamela was happy to leave the creative vision completely up to me, and having been inspired by New York street style for years, I wanted to draw on that to make something that was eye-catching and unique.
I love the juxtaposition of the formal, Chanel-style tweed of the original jacket with the eye-watering neon. The formal cut and historically structured shapes of the waist line and skirt balanced so well with the playful colours and joyous sparkles, the hanging elements and tulle provide movement that make it feel dynamic.
Overall this was such a fun make, and Pamela was really open and encouraging to work with. I love seeing where the ideas go when I collaborate with people, and it’s amazing to see what magic can be created with discarded items; in this case a second-hand blazer, a lampshade, a beach bag, construction chains, tulle remnants, vintage lace, a broken festival cape, and collected buttons!
DC: What influences and inspires your color choices?
Fleurre: I love to work with a lot of colour because as a society there has been a huge shift away from using colour in the mainstream. There is a child-like quality to wearing a lot of colour, so that lends itself well to subversive messaging. I like to make things that on the surface look fun and inviting, but on closer inspection have a deeper, darker meaning. I think that clash really highlights the messaging which can be uncomfortable, and that’s the point.
DC: How do you include your own point of view in your work?
Fleurre: Honestly, I wouldn’t know how to make something that wasn’t my point of view! I use my personal experiences and translate that messaging into the pieces I make. It all comes from slurs shouted in streets, angry messages from spurned lovers, and the clash of societal expectations vs. the abusive culture we tolerate.
DC: What’s the most intricate design idea you’ve ever had, and how did it go?
Fleurre: The more techniques I learn the more I want to incorporate, so my makes get more intricate the more I do. I’m currently working on some quilted festival jackets that involve a LOT of hand-sewing and rhinestoning. So far so good, but wish me luck!
DC: What is your advice to young designers?
Fleurre: Just START! Your first piece will never be the best designed, best executed, or most realised idea. Practice makes perfect and over time you’ll learn the techniques and how to express yourself, but if you never start for fear of not being good enough, you’ll never know!