Upcycled Fashion Turns Old Into New for the Perfect Rave Apparel

Taking a typical sports jersey from a pile and transforming it into a fashionable asymmetrical long shirt. Grabbing an unassuming ice hockey polo, and reworking it into an elegant evening dress. Transforming a football jumper into a colorful pair of leggings.

While these might all sound like unlikely fashion fusions, this notion of “recycling” and “upgrading” an existing garment, and transforming it into something completely new, is a concept known as “upcycling”—and it can lead to some genuinely exciting creations. In fact, a Berlin-based designer was so inspired by the idea of transforming unassuming sports garments into high fashion, he’s dedicated his career to crafting dynamic and colorful upcycled creations that ravers find irresistible.

“What I find most exciting about ‘upcycling’ is taking an original piece of clothing and then completely changing its idea and meaning into something new,” says Wilfried Pletzinger, a veteran designer who runs his own Berlin fashion store full of his own handmade creations. However, he emphasizes upcycling as different from either retro or vintage fashion.

“Usually it means completely changing the concept of the garment. What people might not realize is there is often more work involved in producing an upcycled piece of clothing than to just make something new. It’s easy to print a pattern on a shirt, but it’s much harder to take an existing piece of clothing and then transform it into something completely original and different.”

While Wilfried’s designs might be inspired by the original sportswear items he’s redesigning, and his colorful and sophisticated clothing might also be perfectly suited for EDC, he says he views them as neither “sportswear” nor “clubwear.”

“I view the designs as high fashion—as streetwear and nightwear. A lot of my collection is casual wear, though there are also some dresses that, for the right person, would work perfectly on the red carpet. There are some pieces that are elegant, without being overstyled.”

However, the rave appeal of his designs is undeniable, with a connection stretching back to the ‘90s, when his first upcycled designs were featured at a special catwalk show at Berlin’s legendary and iconic E-Werk club.

The Berlin Connection

The Pletzinger store can be found in the hip district of Mitte in East Berlin, which is just a short distance from the early iconic clubs like Tresor and E-Werk, where Wilfried himself used to party back in the ‘90s, while he was first developing his upcycling concept. At the time it was just a side project—as opposed to the all-consuming passion it eventually transformed into—though his early designs were quick to connect with the colourful rave scene blossoming in Berlin at the time.

“My designer friend and I did our first fashion show together at the E-Werk. We were doing more or less what was actually considered clubwear at the time—very colourful and futuristic prints.”

Eventually, he was drawn to explore the fashion industry in other parts of the world. In 2001, he accepted a design role with H&M at the company’s HQ in Stockholm, Sweden.

“I was fascinated to know this big company,” he says. “However, I eventually discovered work at H&M wasn’t quite as much fun as I thought it would be. I like to be outrageous and colourful in how I design clothes, while H&M by its nature has more a classic and simplified design.”

Deciding eventually to return to his upcycling concepts, he scaled back his office hours to allow him time to begin his own design company. It was a move motivated purely for the sake of creative expression, though it quickly earned him attention in the fashion world; he’s since held shows at Copenhagen Fashion Week, as well as Alternative Fashion Week in London.

“I decided eventually that my project was not so suited for Stockholm. While the Swedes are very modern and fashionable, they’re all more or less wearing the same thing. The country is great for streetwear, but I think they want not to be so different to other people.”

Wilfried returned to Berlin in the summer of 2011 to start a pop-up store in the center of the city, which he says allowed him to figure out trends and what people wanted in particular from his type of clothing. The next stop was to put down roots with a permanent showcase store.

Like so many other creative entrepreneurs in Berlin, Pletzinger has gone it alone with an independent venture. He’s in good company, though, with the city’s affordable cost of living and famously open-minded attitude making it a haven for those who like to do things differently.

“I think it’s amazing so many are coming to Berlin from all over the world, and they all manage to survive. You can do what you like here, and this is what people appreciate, I think. You are never judged for what you wear or how you look, and people don’t care how much money you have. It’s so different to cities like Stockholm or Munich, so much less pressure to conform.”

Made for American Ravers?

While Berlin is a place where you could stroll down the street dressed as Chewbacca without anyone batting an eyelid, Wilfried admits the clubbing scene’s current love of the traditional “techno black” fashion palette means his clothes often have a stronger draw for American ravers. It’s not surprising, considering how colorful and expressive the US festival scene is.

While fashion trends come and go, Wilfried says the dynamic and colourful nature of his upcycled designs are an intrinsic part of his own identity.

“It’s who I am,” he says. “Even when I was studying back in the ‘80s, already my designs were all colourful and futuristic. People were telling me, ‘If you want to work in fashion, then it will need to be in sports,’ though I knew I would take things in a different direction.”

There are certainly aspects of the original sports garments that carry over to his new designs, with both comfort and movement considered crucial. Conveniently, this lends itself perfectly to dancing till the break of dawn. However, something that’s less important is gender.

“We’re seeing the world embrace the concept of ‘unisex’ fashion, and I do believe it’s old-fashioned to ask people to define themselves by their gender. So, I have no separate section for men and women. And often a piece I had in mind for a girl, I’m surprised to see it worn well by a boy. Often it’s the customers who inspire me with how they wear the clothes.”

Wilfried Pletzinger’s store can be found in Reinhardtstraße 6, 10117 Berlin. International inquires can be made via the store’s website, Facebook page or email at [email protected]. Online store coming soon!