The Outnet launches “unique” upcycled capsule with ELV Denim

The Outnet may be best known for its past-season off-price luxury fashion, but it also regularly releases new-season capsules and its latest is a “limited edition, upcycled capsule” designed by ELV Denim, which it says is an offer with a difference. 

This “exclusive and unique” 50-piece collection is “the first of its kind” for the e-tailer, with all items “transformed from past season, leftover deadstock” and produced by ELV in London.

ELV was founded by stylist, creative director and sustainability entrepreneur Anna Foster, with its initials standing for ‘East London Vintage Denim’, as all clothing and accessories are designed from post-consumer waste and produced locally in East London. 

Its three principle include “handcrafted, upcycling and luxury” with the label focusing on “fabric-first curated sourcing of pre-loved garments and innovative design” to create a series of unique pieces.

So what do get with this collection? Contrast denim styles, alongside new categories including tailoring, knitwear and leather items. Hero pieces include a leather fringed gladiator skirt, “reimagined” from its original form of leather leggings; plus a cashmere chunky roll-neck sweater that’s been transformed into both a twinset and a turtleneck knit bib with matching gloves. 

There’s also a “timeless drop-waist denim skirt produced from four pairs of jeans”; and a white denim dress formed from six pairs of jeans, with any off-cuts “constructed into corsets to avoid waste and where possible full use of original materials”. 

Styles have been designed to be worn together, “offering a curated edit of essentials as part of a forever wardrobe. Also echoing the brand’s minimal-waste approach, swing tags for the collaboration are made from the excess material, working with traditional techniques to transform any excess fibres into handcrafted paper”.

The circularity element goes further too with all items from the capsule having a Digital ID, in partnership with EON, and featuring scannable QR codes “that give customers greater post-purchase information about their item’s fabrication, styling advice, and care guidance”.

Anna Foster said: “There is a natural alignment between ELV Denim and The Outnet; we have the same beliefs that just because a garment isn’t loved the first time it doesn’t mean it can’t be loved a second time. ELV gives new opportunities to garments that have been overlooked, innovating beyond denim, and creating forever pieces with a story. There is a uniqueness in our design process, driven by the material at hand and the foresight to see its potential. Through this collaboration, we are proving that, ultimately, upcycling on a larger scale for ready-to-wear collections can be a beautiful success.”