From creative couture to dopamine dressing: Australia’s growing upcycling movement
For 50 years, the aisles of Reverse Garbage, a creative re-use centre in Sydney’s inner west, have bustled with all manner of discarded oddities including Barbies, vintage film reels, bubble wrap and zippers. The centre is a haven for artists, crafters and magpies who see treasure where others see trash.
Fashion designer Nathaniel Youkhana is one such creative who wanders the aisles.
CEO of Reverse Garbage Kirsten Junor and Sydney designer Nathaniel Youkhana with one of his designs on the model.Credit: Edwina Pickles
Youkhana was inspired by another Sydney designer – friend and collaborator Jordan Gogos – to start using unconventional materials in his work. His intricately crafted pieces, which embody an inclusive, all-sizes approach to design, are typically marked by his signature braiding, often woven from materials found at Reverse Garbage.
“Creatively, sometimes you find yourself getting stuck into an aesthetic or being pigeonholed. I just wanted to take my mind out of only being a ‘one-trick pony’ designer,” he says.
“It really tests your mindset of what you can and can’t do. And I love that aspect of taking some [waste] material and trying to make something really beautiful, but also wearable.”
Upcycling – re-using material that would otherwise go to waste to create something of higher value – is a growing global movement. On social media, many users – often Gen Z and Millennials – share upcycling projects or “thrift flips”, as they are sometimes referred to.
Professor Alice Payne, Dean of RMIT’s School of Fashion and Textiles, says she’s seen “enormous growth in upcycling practice over the past 20 years... to the point [where] upcycling is another method of fashion production”.
But she says the motivation behind upcycling has evolved over time. In the 1970s punk movement, it was a means of rejecting mass-market consumerism and making a statement, while in the 1990s, designers such as Martin Margiela used upcycling to evoke memory and emotion.
“[But] increasingly what we’re seeing in the 2000s and particularly the last decade, is that upcycling is actually much more linked to environmental concerns,” she says.
Indeed, upcycling’s growing popularity mirrors the increasing environmental footprint of the fashion industry – partly spurred on by ultra-fast fashion.
Australians are the biggest consumers of new clothing in the world per capita, discarding more than 300,000 tonnes of textiles each year.
Reflecting on half a century in September, Reverse Garbage CEO Kirsten Junor says the organisation’s work hasn’t strayed too far from its mission of educating the community about “re-use and its place in the waste hierarchy”.
But the world around it has.
“Marrickville’s a very different place to what it was 50 years ago,” she says.
“There used to be so much more manufacturing and light industry, and we didn’t have to travel as far for our materials... We used to get a lot more natural fibres and things like that. It’s a lot heavier on plastics now, unfortunately, but at least we’re diverting them from heading straight to landfill.”
She thinks upcycling is growing in popularity as people become more conscious of sustainability.
“It’s also a way of self-expression that counts for so much in an era of following trends. It’s almost a [form] of protest, that ‘f--- you, mate, I’m not just going to go out and buy what you say I should. I can create my own. I am an individual’.”
While Youkhana says the use of upcycled materials does help cut down on costs, the labour required to create them (pieces can take weeks, even months, to complete) means work isn’t always financially viable.
“Unfortunately, in this industry, a lot of people can’t afford to purchase these dresses or galleries aren’t really buying garments any more. And for [magazine] editorials, there’s no budget. So all the money that I’m putting into these garments, it’s just not making anything back,” he says.
Sharing skills
Leah Herszberg, centre, is the founder of upcycling and sewing workshops Studio Nana.Credit: Joe Armao
In May this year, Leah Herszberg launched Studio Nana: upcycling and sewing workshops held in her living room in South Yarra, Melbourne.
It was while studying fashion that Herszberg started to think about what a career in the industry would mean against the backdrop of growing textile waste and overconsumption.
“I always felt that if I were to order stock and try to move it, I was doing a disservice to the fashion industry by just creating more potential waste with no certainty that I’d be able to even sell the clothes,” she says.
The response to her workshops has been “really positive” and “nothing I could have expected”, she says.
Herszberg provides all the raw materials, including thrifted clothing and deadstock fabric (unused, surplus textiles), that students need to make their own upcycled creation in two hours.
She suggests Studio Nana’s popularity comes from their low-stakes atmosphere where everyone from beginners to seasoned sewers can learn a new skill.
“It’s a relaxed environment, there’s usually snacks and wine and it’s less intimidating.”
She is looking at finding a larger workshop space in Melbourne and setting up virtual classes that can be taken nationwide.
Upholding the tradition
Blair Villanueva’s upcycled designs are characterised by explosive colour and a sense of whimsy. Credit: Simon Schluter
Growing up in the Philippines, buying, repairing and upcycling secondhand clothing was a family tradition for Blair Villanueva.
So when she moved to Melbourne in 2019, she was shocked to see the volume of, in her eyes, perfectly good textiles and household objects, put out for council collection.
Villanueva sees creative possibilities everywhere: her stepson’s basketball becomes a handbag, an old pair of pyjamas are stripped down and crocheted into a purse, unwanted children’s toys can be fashioned into earrings or hair clips.
These creations are an outlet for self-expression.
“When I was in the Philippines, I loved fashion, but couldn’t express myself much because eccentric style and secondhand clothes had a negative stigma. So when I moved here I was like, ‘whoa, it’s a different world’.”
Her style, often inspired by Disney and anime movies, is the epitome of dopamine dressing: bright, whimsical and driven by joy.
She loves how her clothes are often conversation starters with strangers, and says upcycling is a form of relaxation.
“It gives me a zen... it makes me happy.”
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