Londoners have long been fashion scavengers. From punk’s subversive use of the trusty safety pin to the New Romantics and treasure hunters of Camden Market, the city has always had a knack for turning the discarded into something desirable.
What began as an act of DIY rebellion has evolved into an entire ecosystem of sustainable reinvention – aka upcycling. Whether it’s whether it’s London labels like ELV Denim using vintage and dead-stock denim, or hand-sewn jewel buttons on vintage dresses in Miu Miu’s Upcycled collection, the approach is helping remake the future of fashion. Since 2020, marketplace Alterist has been tuning into this spirit, working with designers to sell one-of-a-kind upcycled pieces online, hosting pop-ups around the capital and taking over the Accessories Hall at Selfridges. And now, it’s opened a permanent physical store, in London Fields’s Netil Market.
“I’ve always felt there was a need for a permanent physical space where people could meet, discover designers, touch garments, and learn more about what they wear,” Martina Sorghi, a fashion school graduate and designer who co-founded Alterist with Hannah Standen, tells Broadsheet. “It creates a sense of community and gives people a place to return to, rather than simply passing through.”
The pair is on a mission to make fashion’s second (or third) life its most “creative and exciting” yet, championing bespoke, one-of-a-kind pieces – and the artisans behind them – over fleeting trends and impulse buys. The pair first met through fashion activism, where they connected with independent upcycling designers and noticed many lacked visibility and support networks.
“We wanted to create a space, a home for upcycling, where people could discover these incredible designers, shop for sustainability and see just how creative and exciting upcycled fashion can be,” Standen says of their decision to turn activism into action.
Six years on, Alterist has cultivated a creative community with almost 200 designers across 18 countries alchemising deadstock and surplus textiles into bespoke pieces – including handbags made from fabric repurposed from abandoned hotel sofas. “The pieces they create are so much cooler than what you’ll find on the high street,” Standen continues. “You get something with a story behind it, but you also get something that was made with love and that no one else is wearing.”
Co-designed by Hackney-based architects Re Co Studio, the new shop is compact without feeling boxed in – a fitting home for a business built on reimagination. Shoes and handbags are stacked on cinder blocks and clothes hang from pipes. The rotating roster of designers includes Stuart Trevor, founder of All Saints and now the creator of an eponymous no-new-clothes label built on circularity, alongside emerging names such as Dorota Bojanowska and EBCYC, the collaborative project behind the viral Flower Puff Bag recently seen at fashion weeks around the world.
“We get people who care about sustainability, but we also get people who simply love great fashion,” Standen says of the growing hub, which is attracting everyone from fashion insiders after rare, statement pieces to shoppers building a more considered wardrobe.
“In the same way someone might buy a piece of art because they love the artist's perspective, people buy upcycled fashion because they connect with the designer's vision and way of seeing the world.”
Alterist
Unit M1, Fields, Netil Market, 13–23 Westgate Street, E8 3RL
Hours:
Wed to Sat 11am–7pm
Sun 11am–6pm
