The Reborn project creates furniture using old clothes

Korean designers Younghyun Kim and Dasom Lee have created a range of conceptual furniture that features upholstery constructed out of old clothes.

Kim and Lee apply simple, handcrafted techniques to address consumer waste streams by upcycling old clothes into new products. 

The design duo wanted the Reborn Project to highlight the environmental impact of clothes waste as well as the innovative ways garment details can be translated to create new products.

It includes a collection of metal chairs with upholstered elements made using discarded or damaged coats such as a puffa jacket or an old leather bag.

These handcrafted pieces are fixed to stainless steel frames, which Kim and Lee bent into shape manually.

Their ribbon-like shape is inspired by the process of constructing the upholstered elements. 

“All chairs are designed to be separated from the frame, using leather zippers, straps and buckles,” says Kim.

“Meanwhile, padding was also fixed using buckles. For example, buttons and zippers were originally in clothes, and buckles and fasteners were also taken from discarded bags.”

From textile waste to acoustic panels—BAUX upcycles polyester and creates sound insulation.

Fashion X design in the circular economy

A factor that most people don’t ever consider is the impact our clothes have on the environment and despite efforts to promote recycling, the struggle continues.

According to reports by fashion retailer H&M, only a quarter of the 95 percent of textiles that can be recycled actually is.

In spite of old clothes being overlooked as a viable material for a second life, there’s now a trend in using end-of-life fabrics in ingenious ways including for upholstering furniture, which The Reborn Project serves to illustrate.

From soft fabrics to solid walls: FabBRICK reinvents construction materials with recycled textile waste.