Marine Serre’s collection was an ode to the old, worn-out and discarded. The designer loves giving used fabrics and materials a new life and regularly buys old denim – by the ton – tears it apart and pieces it back together for her collections.
“There’s enough material out there to survive for years,” said the designer, who opted for a showroom presentation this season so everyone could see the details and how she worked old fabrics and materials into the collection.
There were bright, boxy shirts pieced together from discarded cotton tote bags, and the result was a joyous jumble of color, pattern and disjointed words and logos.
Tailored jackets and berets came with colorful scout patches – all of them different – while necklaces and bracelets were strung with old dice. Serre split conch shells in half lengthwise, revealing their skeletons, and turned them into dangly earrings.
The collection was heavy on denim. The designer buys old jeans, cuts off the legs and begins again, piecing the material into new styles.
This season they included top and trouser combos printed with the designer’s signature crescent motif; patchwork jeans with leather panels in the shape of licking flames, and cool low-waist 1970s flares with worn and faded bits here and there, revealing the previous life of the fabric.
She worked flowery deadstock fabric into shirts with rows of tiny pleats, and old silk scarves into kimonos – and shoes. It was the first time the designer used upcycled fabric on shoes, and she said it was no easy task pleating the fabric and adding it to the kitten heel slingbacks.
The collection featured new materials, too. There were leather suits with the crescent moon motif which had been airbrushed to give them a “sunburnt” antique edge, and boxy leather cowboy jackets with a licking flame motif.
Serre is proud of her sustainable work and is preparing to amplify her message with the brand’s first standalone store set to open in Asia in October.
