I've been a big fan of upcycling for a long
time. To be honest I think it's in my DNA. Being brought up in Lancashire the highlight of my dad's week was a trip t'tip. He'd often come home with something he'd found and could never pass a skip without having a rummage. My family despair with me too when I bring home another chair which I've found on the street. But I find it so rewarding breathing new life into vintage finds. I love the creative challenge of thinking of new ways to update items of clothing or pieces of furniture.
I admit to being massively out of touch with the fashion world but when I saw a feature in the paper about a young designer Connor Ives it struck a chord with me.
Connor Ives is quite high profile and his signature 'vintage-meets-streetwear' cocktail dresses are highly sought after. He calls it a 'lateral design business model', scouring through piles of second hand clothing to find the right pieces to remodel into some stunning items of clothing. This is upcycling on a new level.
Ives says that his design concept is based on lateral creative thinking. Otherwise known as thinking 'outside the box'. I've watched a couple of Dr. Edward de Bono talks about this on YouTube which are fascinating. He's accredited with the concept lateral thinking. He describes that we're all in boxes in someway and that most new ideas start from a fixed position. Lateral thinking is coming up with different ways to address the brief.
I can see a parallel with this way of thinking in yoga. Our minds can trick us to thinking 'I can't do that'. 'I'm not flexible or strong'. A fixed perception. Yet if we practice yoga we are encouraged to have a go. Put in the effort, be open to new ways of doing things and look at things from a different perspective. Trying not to let obstacles deter us. Lateral thinking.
Back to another subject close to my heart. Slowing down and working out what things are important to us and bring us joy - can apply to all our possessions, including our clothes. There is nothing wrong with buying nice new things. That's what makes the world go round. It can also be really enjoyable looking for something new - retail therapy.
But perhaps we should all be more mindful and take a leaf out of Connor Ives' book and maybe think more about changing things round and changing things up, before buying more new and ditching the old.
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