House of RE, where upcycling becomes a premium standard for a better planet

During university, I started to upcycle my own clothes. I didn't know back then that it was a concept. I mainly did it because, as a student, I didn't have a lot of money to always buy new clothes. I would ask my mom to crop things for me, or make a skirt out of a shirt. 

The more I immersed myself in the world of upcycling, the more I began to realize the impact of the fashion industry on people and the planet. I realized how much work it actually implies to create one single piece. I started to educate myself on the topic and founded House of RE as a way to change people's perspective on fashion by conveying that fashion does not need to harm our planet; in fact, it can help lower the impact it has had over the years. 

I think upcycling is still perceived as something that has cool and unique pieces as a result. I think this is the main reason people love upcycling brands because it's usually more edgy, more unique. 

Or that the prices that are high are because upcycling processes take much longer than the usual manufacturing of garments. 

A major achievement for me has been this past year, where together with two Belgian ateliers we found ways to do ucpycling according to industry standards. Not just freestyle and DIY, but actually follow patterns and finishings in the way any normal garment is done. 

Since it's handmade, the attention to detail is very close, and each item goes through multiple quality checks, first at sourcing, later at creation, and after again. This is a super close collaboration where I, as the designer, go to the atelier more than two times a week, and not just send over my sketches to a manufacturing company on the other side of the world and in a few months receive a bulk of items ready. So being able to establish that collaboration and an end-to-end qualitative process has been a big achievement. 

The last few years, I have started to slow down in many parts of my life, and I feel like, as human beings, anything we create with time and patience is always better, not just for ourselves but for everything around us. 

Being dressed right, in that one special piece just made for you, is so much more valuable than constantly being up to date with trends. 

I still work at my full-time job as a tech consultant, so I would say my journey is not comparable with someone who only focusses on their company. For me, things have gone slower due to constantly combining two things and next to that doing everything on my own; it was just impossible to go at the pace that let's say "someone else has gone". 

I prefer this route because it allows me to make decisions from a place that is not rushed or stressed with money in mind. For a long time, I only invested in House of RE and would get nothing back, but still, for me, it was worth it, it was like doing a hobby but professionally. 

Over the years, it has taught me so much. I have gotten to know myself better through House of RE, and at times when other things in my life were hard, House of RE was like an escape, a place where I could hide. Of course, like any other entrepreneur, I have had many doubts, especially in the last few years, when sometimes it looked like it was not gonna work with production, but somehow whenever things got really hard, there was always one really good thing that happened as well, and  those moments have been a sufficient reason to hold on and continue. 

Maybe not per se for upcycling but in general with any idea: 

And some more: you cannot prepare for every challenge; talk to people and you will learn more than with any research; and collaborate as much as you can. 

Website: www.houseofrestudio.com

Instagram: @house.of.re

TikTok: house.of.re

Thank you so much, Nilab, for this inspiring time with us!