Concerns about the environment and the development of a sustainable economy have recently turned recycling clothes into one of the hippest and trendiest hobbies of British fashionistas. Unfortunately for them, though, thanks to Andrea Crews, the French have been, for the last five or so years, the real leaders when it comes to raising public awareness to what recycling clothes means, while networking at the same time with international artists, stylists, video directors, DJs, humanitarian associations and schools.
Founded in 2002 by Maroussia Rebecq, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Andrea Crews is a multidisciplinary collective aimed at combining art and fashion. The leitmotiv of the group’s projects is indeed “Fashion, Art and Activism”. For the last few years the collective has been involved in the direction of videos, installations, happenings and performances, but one of its main projects is based on the modern and excessive consumption of clothes.
Collaborating with charities by recycling second-hand clothes and labels such as Nike and Agnès b. by customising some of their products and giving them a new life, Andrea Crews transforms raw materials into innovative creations. The concept is simple: if in science nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed, in Andrea Crews’ world, nothing is new, but everything is recycled, remixed, remodelled and reinterpreted.
The inspirations behind each single outfit or accessory vary: there’s a bit of punk ethos infused in the creations, but the Acid House D.I.Y. aesthetic is not missing, as well as more arty influences and urban sub-cultural references. The result is a playful, experimental and unconventional style, what the collective calls post-vintage, and what could be considered as a clearly aesthetical, definitely ethical and absolutely individual approach to fashion. One of the collective’s latest ventures was its participation in the SWAP project based on the conceptual exchange of artistic identities and conceived, directed and produced together with art group Item Idem.
Andrea Crews’ Autumn/Winter 2008-09 collection is a Carnival-like take on Walter Gropius’ Bauhaus. This movement, that operated from 1919 to 1933 in Germany, created some of the most famous and polychromatic abstract designs in its textile workshop, directed by designer and weaver Gunta Stölzl.
Imagine mixing Elsa Schiaparelli’s 1939 “Commedia dell’Arte” collection, the theme of Carnival travesty and chaos and the Bauhaus prints and costumes for Oskar Schlemmer’s 1922 ballet “Das Triadische Ballet” and you’ll get an idea of what the new creations look like: basic pieces such as mini-dresses and shopping bags feature black and white/red and black Bauhaus-like prints; geometric motifs form colourful totems on T-shirts and dresses; fried eggs are printed on black square dresses and sweatshirts are decorated with delicate embroideries made in the Brazilian favelas.
The collection also features a few accessories such as post-modernist scarves, crossovers between luxury scarves and keffiahs, and experimentally chic leather necklaces. All the collection is based on 3 shapes, 5 materials and 7 patterns.
Anybody heading to Paris during the summer holidays should check out Andrea Crews’ workshop, located in heart of Paris’ red light district of Pigalle. But, you’re warned: once you see it, you might want to join in the collective’s projects and decide not go back home.
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