Upcycling: A Brief History
In recent years, sustainable clothing trends have enjoyed a rise in popularity, as public awareness of fast fashion’s harmful practices has increased. Upcycling is one such trend, and while it might seem like the latest fad, it’s actually been around forever! Did you know that mass production of clothing didn’t even start in earnest until the 19th century? That leaves hundreds of years of ethical clothing practices for us to draw inspiration from. To narrow it down, we’re going to focus on European and American practices from the 17th through the 19th centuries.
What is Upcycling, Anyway?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, upcycling is the act of making new furniture, objects, and clothing out of old or used things. It can apply to anything – chairs, bottle caps, you name it – but we’ll be focusing specifically on upcycled clothing.
The term “upcycling” was first used by German businessman Reiner Pilz, in a 1994 article, where he explained: “What we need is upcycling, where old products are given more value, not less.” It wasn’t until 1998 that the term was used in its current context, with the release of the popular environmentalist book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Although “upcycling” as a word wasn’t used until the 90s, the concept has been around for centuries.
Just How Long Have People Been Upcycling For?
There isn’t an exact known timeline, but from what we know about humans and our pre-Industrial Revolution habits, “since as long as we’ve been wearing clothes” is probably a good guess. As far as specific examples go, there are tons!
Clothing was – and still is – handmade, even when sewing machines are used. Back in the 15th to 18th centuries, people hired a local seamstress to make clothing that was customized for their specific measurements (if they could afford it). If not, they either made their own clothing, wore hand-me-downs, or thrifted. There was actually a sizable thrifting scene in 17th century Venice! And unless you were uber-wealthy, you couldn’t buy clothes on a whim; even if you were wealthy, a good, quality dress takes time to make. So regardless of where people got their clothes, upcycling was a must.
Was Upcycling “Trendy”?
While upcycling was the norm throughout all social ranks, upper-classes across Europe and the U.S were particularly proud of their upcycled clothing. A notable example is Alexandra, Princess of Wales in 1863; she hired dressmakers to convert her wedding dress into an evening gown, just a few days after the ceremony. This was a common 19th century European practice; wealthy women spent a lot of money on the most notorious dressmakers, and wanted to get the most out of their investments.
Clothing conservation was considered so important that it was common for gowns to be left in wills. Bits of lace and such from these inherited clothing pieces were often repurposed, used to upcycle the inheritors’ own wardrobe. Caroline Astor, the famed 19th century American socialite, wore “200-year-old lace trimmings” on a black gown to her daughter’s wedding. Clearly, there was no stigma against thrifting and upcycling, the way there is today.
In the 21st century, thrifting has unfairly been viewed as a marker of low social status – an idea that is incredibly problematic in and of itself. Though some may argue that thrifting as a trend only masks the stigma, it’s important to remember that it’s been around for ages, and won’t go away any time soon. What needs to change is not the practice itself, but attitudes surrounding it.
Though upcycling has always been around, our modern, fast-fashion-centric culture could take a page out of the past’s book and find pride in this timeless practice.You can follow in their footsteps by upcycling your own clothing. If you’re not as crafty, you can buy from upcycled brands like Fanfare, Selina Sanders, and Chopova Lowena. Happy upcycling!
Written by Sara Traynor
Sara uses she/her pronouns. Fashion and writing are her two favorite modes of creative expression, and loves to combine them in SFUSA. In her free time, she does crossword puzzles, reads, and watches SpongeBob.