Orsola de Castro
Exhibition runs: Tues 11th – Wed 19th Jun 2013
Private View: Tues 11th Jun
In Conversation with Lucy Siegle: Tues 18th Jun
Location: Gallery & Project Space
Orsola de Castro, creative director of From Somewhere, the revolutionary label she started in 1997, and the first to address the issue of pre-consumer waste and reproducibility in recycling for the fashion industry, is known as the Upcycling Queen.
Orsola’s Inside Design exhibition will celebrate her visionary and ethical approach to clothes making. The exhibition will be about the design process and about what is important to her: touch, colour, how dresses fall and how clothes fit. The show will explore how fashion has responsibilities and yet must look great. This exhibition will also celebrate with the launch of the new From Somewhere website.
Orsola discovered the delights of pre-consumer waste when she visited Miles, one of Italy’s best known high-end knitwear manufacturers, and she immediately focused on the remnants and surplus as a source of material for her designs. This pre-consumer waste became gems for her to play with. From Somewhere collaborations include upcycled collections for Jigsaw, Robe di Kappa, Tesco and Speedo.
Inspired by both punk and hippies and also interested in the free flow of ideas between high and low fashion, Orsola found herself designing an Oscar dress for Livia Firth, wife of Best Actor norminee Colin, in March 2010. From Somewhere has also collaborated with Speedo, reusing and upcycling obsolete swimwear and fabrics to create new items, such as the Unity dress designed to celebrate the 2012 Olympic spirit.
In 2011, Orsola together with partner Filippo Ricci founded Reclaim To Wear, an organization that brings designers, producers and distributors to create upcycled capsule collections. Reclaim To Wear collaborations have included Livia Firth and Central Saint Martins, as well as Topshop Reclaim To Wear, a bestselling capsule collection which launched in June 2012 and is still ongoing.
Orsola, together with Filippo Ricci, is the co-founder and co-curator of Estethica – the eco-platform at London Fashion Week showcasing sustainable designers since 2006.
At the private view, look out for exciting goody bags provided by Pachacuti, People Tree, T&T Nottinghill, Vinceremos, Ginger People, By Hand London and Very Magazine.
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