Spice your wardrobe up with ÜPSYKL’s latest collection or give them a chance to work their magic on your “expired” but much loved apparel. Mint waste materials have never been more exciting with it coming from and returning to your own wardrobe redesigned, reshaped, and up-cycled. Eco-friendly local fashion brand ÜPSYKL aims to create a more sustainable process on the consumption of clothing articles. A way to declutter your regular wardrobe without sending your pre-loved ones to the landfills.
The Fashion industry has been one of the largest prospering industry in the world. However, this same industry is the second greatest source of pollution in the world. A pretty industry but one that comes at an ugly cost. Not only because of the raw production of the materials, but also with the existence of fast fashion and in retrospect the increasing consumption (and in consequence) the wastage from regular replacement of clothes in the name of fashion, this industry has reaches a global consumption of $450, 000m in the past decade and is predicted to increase up to $600,000m by next year. Just imagine the amount of waste that this in return will produce. This is where Nabilah Jeffery and Nina Saiful, the founders of ÜPSYKL, enter the runaway. The attentive to fashion waste Nabilah Jeffery holds a First Class Honours Graduate in MA (Hons) International Business while Nina Saiful is a fashion enthusiast who holds a First Class Honours Graduate in BA (Hons) Tourism and Management.
Joining top fashion labels such as Eileen Fisher, Stella McCartney, and Ralph Lauren who are leading the formation of the fashion industry, ÜPSYKL joins in with its mission to recycle old clothes and convert them to new styles via the process of upcycling. The company aspires to be one of the Asian-inspired eco-brand with a touch of futuristic and minimal designs aimed for fashion-forward females within the age range between 20- 35 years old. According to them, “To date, we have saved an approximate 50kg of minted clothes from going straight to landfills, thus contributing to clothes clogging the landfills, creating a toxic brew of air pollutants to the environment such as greenhouse gases”.
However, upcycling is not the only values being upheld by ÜPSYKL, “One of the core values we uphold would be to encourage and empower designers to unleash their creativities in converting mint waste materials (mostly fabric) into new products such as clothing line, thus giving these materials a second shot at its lifespan. In the long run, we foresee ÜPSYKL as the main platform for local designers to be united under Fashion and Textile Council or Federation to further uplift and expose the designer community in Brunei on a regional and international level. The designs and creation of each article of clothing places emphasis on mint waste materials and how they can be given a second life through a dash here and there of creativity and thoughtfulness the results are delightfully experimental.” Such gallantry in imploring creativity to help save the environment.
With the intention to inspire sustainable consumption Nabilah Jeffery and Nina Saiful work together to build an Asian-pride eco-fashion brand, bringing us their first collection titled ‘Pop-Recovered: Reduce. Reuse. Upsykl.’ They share with us, “The Pop-Recovered collection revolves around giving a second shot of life to our seasoned minted clothes…Our ready-to-wear Pop-Recovered collection is one that is dear to us, as it is the pioneering eco-fashion brand in Brunei and hopefully, one day, in Asia… We will show you our journey, from its inspiration to its execution. The hard work and toil behind this collection is right here in this studio [Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio], so let us help you to consume smartly to create a better and sustainable environment,”.
For this collection ÜPSYKL is working with local fashion designer Humaira Zakaria. The young fashion enthusiast, aspiring designer, and also the creative director at HZNO asserts, “as a designer, it is a rewarding experience to be able to create while being a little friendlier to the environment. Using recycled clothes enabled me to be more intuitive while constructing and sewing. To anyone interested in fashion design, upcycling is definitely a way to understand clothes better and to appreciate how they are made.” Previously, the designer was one of the two finalists representing Brunei for Grand Finale of the AirAsia Runway Ready Designer Search 2017 at Kuala Lumpur.
With such creative fashionistas on board the local creative industry, Creative Space Art Gallery & Studio is proud to host the interactive awareness campaign brought about by ÜPSYKL’s Pop Recovered Collection. It is the hope that this collaboration will culture into our local economy and bring about a more sustainable process of how we consume; addressing the need for the current generation without compromising the future generation. Trendsetters and fashion enthusiasts, join us at Creative Space’s first Fashion Exhibition from the 2nd to 4th March 2018. The date is just around the corner!