top of page

ETTA Studio: Transforming Discarded Fashion into Timeless Treasures


ETTA Studio is at the forefront of a fashion revolution, turning the concept of upcycling into an art form. Founded by Etta in 2018 and relaunched in 2023, the studio was born from a stark realization: the world has enough clothes to dress multiple future generations, yet the demand for new garments persists. With a witty motto, "nothing new here," ETTA Studio focuses on transforming genuinely discarded items into stylish, high-quality pieces. By partnering with swap events and emphasizing transparency, Etta and her team aim to make upcycling mainstream and inspire a shift towards more sustainable practices in the fashion industry.

In conversation with Founder and Designer Etta

Origins and Philosophy 



Etta, can you tell us about the origins of ETTA Studio? What inspired you to start this upcycling brand, and how did you develop your philosophy of "nothing new here"? 


ETTA Studio was born from the realization that we have enough clothes on this planet to dress the next 6 generations. We do not need more, but our appetite for more is insatiable. The only solution we have is upcycling. ‘Nothing new here’ is a comical phrase that extends further than the materials we use. We want upcycling to become mainstream, rather than novelty or a new concept. Originally started in 2018 after graduating university, ETTA Studio was relaunched in February 2023 when I realized the desperate need for upcycling brands that are breaking the niche, handmade, craft perception that upcycling has held in the past. 


Sustainable Practices 


ETTA Studio emphasizes using up to 100% upcycled components in your products. Can you explain the process of sourcing unwanted garments and transforming them into your signature "forever pieces"? 


ETTA Studio focuses on upcycling unwanted garments rather than vintage sort after pieces that would be desirable as is. The definition of upcycling is to ‘reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.’ We do not focus on upcycling pieces that we cannot add value to. This means that we look for waste streams of genuinely discarded items. For example, we partner with swap events, that after the event, when everyone has already chosen the pieces that are of value ‘as is’, ETTA



Studio then takes jeans, tees, shirts- things that we can upcycle at scale- and reworks them into forever pieces.  


Challenges and Solutions 


What are some of the challenges you've faced in trying to use up to 100% upcycled components, especially when it comes to zips and trims? How do you ensure the durability and longevity of your garments despite these challenges? 


That is indeed why we state ‘up to’ rather than exactly 100%. It doesn’t make sense to use fully upcycled zips and trims if this does not make a durable garment. We also want to ensure that our pieces are desirable and that there is a level of consistency, which requires us to use consistent trims and zips. It is important for us to be very transparent about our process as we want to create a community of upcycling advocates who understand both the opportunities and the limitations of upcycling. Another challenge with using upcycled fabrics is the sheer amount of additional time it takes to unpick, steam, cut the garment, rather than working with rolls of virgin fabric.


Lifetime Fixing Service 


Your brand offers a lifetime fixing service. Can you elaborate on how this service works and how it contributes to your goal of a fully circular model? 


We want to continue the relationship with our community well past initial purchase. We know that life happens. And wear and tear occur to all of our clothes. We want to keep clothes in play for as long as possible. So, we welcome our community to email us if an ETTA Studio piece does need fixing. We will then ask the customer to send in the item, which we will fix for free (if possible). If it is not possible, after consultation with the customer, we will upcycle the piece into a new life. We want to make sure that an ETTA Studio piece never ends up in landfill.


Circular Fashion Model 


ETTA Studio is working towards a fully circular fashion model. What steps are you currently taking to achieve this, and what are your long-term goals in this area? 


Along with the lifetime fixing service, we also offer a take back service if someone no longer wants their ETTA Studio piece. We will either resell the piece, or as mentioned above, upcycle the piece into a new life. My long-term goal would be that once product passports are mandatory for all clothing, it will then be possible to fully recycle the fabrics of the reused clothes we use once they finally reach the end of life. Reuse is more energy efficient than recycling, so this should always be our first port of call, but it would be great to know that the fibers can stay in a closed loop.

Customer Engagement and Incentives

 

You offer a 10% discount to customers who send in their old jeans or tees. How has this initiative been received, and how does it fit into your overall strategy of promoting sustainability and upcycling? 


Our community loves to send in their old jeans to be upcycled. It's a great service we can offer if you have a pair of unloved jeans in your wardrobe, that you can either have upcycled into an ETTA Studio design, with a 10% discount, or if you don't want this specific pair upcycled, trade them in for 10% off site wide. We want people to fall back in love with their wardrobe, and what better way than if it's a previously loved piece that we can revitalize with an ETTA Studio refresh. 


Design Process 


As the founder and designer, what is your creative process like when designing new pieces from upcycled materials? How do you balance creativity with the constraints of using pre-existing garments? 


Our mission is really to scale upcycling, so the creative process is very much constrained by the availability and consistency of the garments we are upcycling from. However, I do find a lot of opportunity for innovation in this constraint and find that it actually adds a lot to my design process. I am forever pinning inspiration images of finishes and details that I can apply to upcycled clothing to give that level of consistency. Also, the very boring fact that I also have to make sure that my garments are financially viable. It is all well and good creating a beautiful patchwork top that takes 10+ hours to create, but if that means the top then ends up being €300+, it's not going in the collection. We want to make sure our collections are as accessible as viably possible.


Impact on the Fashion Industry 


How do you see ETTA Studio contributing to the broader movement towards sustainability in the fashion industry? What impact do you hope to have on consumers and other brands? 


We need way more people making sustainability cool. It is just a fact. That is the way fashion works, that's the way consumer behavior works. Throw the best party and then of course people will want to come. For ETTA Studio this means making sure our garments are desirable, our brand speaks to our community, and we continue reaching people through workshops and marketing to increase the reputation and accessibility of upcycled clothing. I hope that consumers feel less apprehension towards upcycled garments, and I hope that the big fashion brands seriously consider the quantity of their output and focus on DEGROWTH.


Community and Collaboration


How important is community to ETTA Studio? Have you engaged in any collaborations or partnerships that have helped further your mission of sustainability and upcycling? 


Community is everything. We cannot create a community of upcycling advocates through basic interactions and soulless selling. If we do not connect to our community, we have failed. We have a few partnerships, such as BOAS- an organization selling vintage jeans and donating 90% of the profits to saving lives, also we have partnerships with a number of swap organizations as I mentioned these are key sourcing locations for us. We also have a number of incredible sustainability advocates as part of our community, but we do not have any formal collaboration with them. We are always open to collaborations, so if you are reading this and think it would be interesting to work together- please do reach out!


Future Plans 


Looking ahead, what are your future plans for ETTA Studio? Are there any new initiatives, collections, or expansions on the horizon that you can share with us?


ETTA Studio is at a great time of growth at the moment. We are currently in conversations with a number of independent boutiques across Europe to get our products to more of our community, which is super exciting. We are working on our second collection of the year. We try to have 2 collections per year that are not exactly seasonless but can be restyled to transform from one season to another. We also continue to create garments from the past collection, as we really do not believe in a ‘sell by date’ for our products. We want them to be timeless in a very current and exciting way.


Check out ETTA Studio on their socials and stay updated on all upcoming drops!

@ettastudio


32 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


TFB Magazine © 2025

  • TikTok
  • Instagram
TFB Issue 02 Logo
bottom of page