Updated August 2026.
Upcycled fashion has become a style in itself. You now see new clothes designed to look patched, reconstructed or reworked, even when they were made entirely from new materials.
I do not think there is anything wrong with liking that aesthetic. But it is useful to separate the look of upcycling from the actual process.
A garment can look upcycled without being upcycled. And an upcycled garment does not have to look obviously reconstructed at all.
At GRÜNWASCHEN in Berlin-Mitte, we work with independent designers using upcycling, reconstruction, deadstock and other forms of material reuse. But rather than putting everything under one big sustainability label, I prefer to say what something actually is.
Was an existing garment reused? Was it made from deadstock? Was it reconstructed? Is it one of one? Those details usually tell you much more.
What is upcycled fashion?
For me, the simplest explanation is that something already existed in one form and is transformed into something new without first being broken back down into raw material.
That could mean taking apart several old garments and using their materials to construct a completely new piece. It could mean cutting, adding, removing and sewing an existing garment until its function or shape changes. It can also involve unused materials or existing objects that were originally made for something else.
The interesting part is that the material already has a history.
Maybe this comes from years of thrifting and buying second-hand, but I like that an upcycled piece has already had a life before. There is a different feeling when you touch it or try it on. For me, upcycling feels almost like an extension of second-hand rather than a completely separate idea.
I know there are also people who want everything they buy to be completely new. That is fine. But if you already enjoy vintage or second-hand clothing, upcycling makes a lot of sense. The material continues its life, just in another form.
Upcycled vs reworked vs recycled vs deadstock
Fashion uses these words very loosely, and there is overlap between them. They are not perfect legal categories with one universal definition. But there are some useful differences.
Upcycled
An existing garment, textile or object is transformed into something with a new form or purpose without first reducing the material back to its original raw state.
A pair of trousers might become part of a jacket. Several garments might be taken apart and combined into one new piece. An old sneaker might become a bag or a corset.
Reworked or reconstructed
Reworked and reconstructed clothing usually starts with an existing garment that remains recognisable as the base, although it might be cut, reshaped, extended, shortened, combined with other materials or completely reconfigured.
The line between reworking and upcycling is not always clear, and often a piece could reasonably be described as both.
Deadstock
Deadstock usually means material that has already been produced but was never used for its original purpose. Most often this means surplus fabric, although deadstock can also include unused components or finished products.
Deadstock is not automatically second-hand, because it may never have been used. And using deadstock does not automatically mean a garment is upcycled. A designer might simply make a new garment from an existing roll of unused fabric.
Recycled
Recycling usually involves processing a material back into fibres, components or another form of raw material before it is made into something new.
This is an important distinction. Cutting an old pair of jeans apart and turning it into a jacket is generally upcycling or reconstruction. Breaking textile material down into fibres and producing a new fabric from those fibres is recycling.
In real fashion production things can become more complicated than these definitions, which is exactly why I find specific information more useful than one big label.
The upcycled look is not always upcycled
One thing that has changed in recent years is that upcycling itself has become an aesthetic.
Patchwork, exposed seams, raw edges, panels made to look mismatched, visible reconstruction and asymmetric details have all moved into mainstream fashion. Fast-fashion companies can now reproduce the visual language of upcycling without actually reusing an existing garment.
Again, that does not make the aesthetic bad. A reconstructed-looking jacket can still be a good jacket.
But it means that seeing patchwork or raw seams is no longer enough to know how something was actually made.
I would rather ask what happened to the material before it became this piece.
Upcycling is not a magic sustainability word
The same thing happens with the word sustainable. Once a word becomes valuable in marketing, everyone learns how to use it.
An upcycled piece is not automatically perfect. It can still contain new thread, buttons, zippers, lining or other materials. It still has to be transported. Somebody still has to make it. A badly designed garment does not suddenly become good design because the material was reused.
And that is okay.
I do not think the goal needs to be proving that one piece of clothing is perfectly sustainable. I find it more useful to understand the actual choices behind it.
This garment was reconstructed from an existing jacket. This bag was made from old sneakers. This fabric was deadstock. This piece is one of one. This designer made it locally. That information is specific enough that you can decide for yourself what matters to you.
Design also comes first more often than sustainability marketing likes to admit. In the shop, people usually notice the colour, shape, texture or silhouette first. They fall in love with the piece and then ask how it was made.
That does not mean they do not care. It just means clothing still has to make you want to wear it.
Upcycled designers at GRÜNWASCHEN
There is no single upcycled aesthetic at GRÜNWASCHEN. The designers below use reconstruction and existing materials in very different ways, which is exactly why I like having them in the same space.
Azul Ballestero
Azul Ballestero is a Berlin-based fashion and textile designer working with deconstruction and reconstruction. Existing garments become raw material: they are taken apart, fragmented and assembled into new forms.
Her work can feel quite Berlin to me, especially in its darker and more muted pieces, but there is often a very specific blue running through the collection. It is also part of Azul's visual identity and gives the work this small recognisable signature that finishes the pieces beautifully.
I also like that traces of the material's previous life are often still visible. The transformation does not need to pretend that the original garment never existed.
View Azul Ballestero pieces at GRÜNWASCHEN
COUTURE RELOADED
COUTURE RELOADED works with discarded garments that still have good materials and construction to work with. Pieces are selected, deconstructed and rebuilt, while fabrics, buttons, zippers and other components can be recovered and reused.
What I particularly like is the quality of the starting point. They know how to find good garments and good materials, then rework them into something contemporary.
The final piece can still have the soul of an older garment, but it does not feel stuck in the past. It has been updated, reshaped and given another life while keeping the quality that was already there.
View COUTURE RELOADED pieces at GRÜNWASCHEN
Atelier J.Santana
Atelier J.Santana works a lot with denim, which is one of the reasons I personally connect with the collection. Denim is strong, rigid and already has so much character before you even start changing it.
Johana Santana uses patchwork and reconstruction almost like architecture. Existing denim becomes a structure to build on, with strong lines, panels, cuts and seams.
Some details can take hours and hours of work. They might look small when you first see the garment, but that time matters. It matters to the designer, it matters to me when I am selecting the piece, and customers notice it when they actually look closely or try it on.
View Atelier J.Santana pieces at GRÜNWASCHEN
dan0m00n
dan0m00n shows another side of upcycling completely.
The work is playful, wiggly, fresh and full of joy. Shapes can puff, curl, ruffle and move around the body in ways that make the pieces feel almost animated.
I like having that next to designers whose work is darker, more industrial or more visibly reconstructed. It is a reminder that upcycled fashion does not need to look distressed, beige, raw or serious.
It can be weird, colourful and fun.
dan0m00n creates one-of-a-kind and upcycled garments and accessories in Berlin, and the label is also part of the GRÜNWASCHEN selection.
Where else to find upcycled fashion in Berlin
GRÜNWASCHEN is obviously not the only place working with upcycled and reconstructed fashion in Berlin. The city has designers, collectives and spaces approaching reuse from very different directions.
RARE Collective, Friedrichshain
RARE is a collective store on Kopernikusstraße bringing several independent Berlin designers into one space.
The current collective includes tHERAPY Recycle & Exorcise and Fade Out Label, both of which have strong connections to upcycling and reconstruction. It is worth visiting if you want to see several different approaches without pretending that upcycling has one fixed visual identity.
RARE Collective, Kopernikusstraße 21, 10245 Berlin
HARAM
HARAM is one of my favourite examples of what happens when the raw material itself completely changes the design language.
Berlin-based artist and designer All Amin specialises in sneaker upcycling, cutting apart existing sneakers and transforming them into bags, bodywear and other sculptural pieces.
It is futuristic and very far away from the stereotypical image of what "sustainable fashion" is supposed to look like. You can clearly understand that the sneakers had another life before, but they have become something completely different.
Like A Casino, Kreuzberg
Like A Casino on Zossener Straße is another place I would look at if you are interested in reworked fashion, but I would recommend it for more than just the clothes.
I love the interior, the atmosphere and basically the whole world of the place. Fashion overlaps with art, music and events, and the space has the kind of raw, slightly chaotic Berlin character that is difficult to recreate deliberately.
It is a good place to see reworked and independent fashion in an environment where the atmosphere matters almost as much as what is hanging on the rack.
Like A Casino
Zossener Str. 33
10961 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Upcycled fashion does not have one aesthetic
This is probably the thing I would most like people to take away from the designers above.
Azul Ballestero does not look like Atelier J.Santana. Santana does not look like dan0m00n. HARAM does not look like COUTURE RELOADED.
The material and method can connect them without forcing them into the same visual category.
Upcycling can be dark or colourful, very precise or deliberately chaotic, refined or raw, subtle or completely sculptural. Sometimes you immediately see where a garment came from. Sometimes you would never guess unless somebody told you.
That variety is much more interesting to me than treating upcycled fashion as a trend with one recognisable look.
What should you look for when buying upcycled clothing?
You do not need to interrogate a designer every time you buy a jacket. But if the process matters to you, a few simple questions can tell you a lot.
- What was the original garment or material?
- Was it previously worn, unused deadstock or another existing material?
- What part of the piece was actually transformed?
- Were new materials added?
- Is the piece one of one, or can the design be reproduced?
- Who reconstructed or made it?
There is not always one "correct" answer. A designer adding a new zipper to an old jacket does not suddenly make the jacket fake upcycling.
The point is simply that a specific explanation is more useful than a vague sustainability claim.
Shop upcycled and reconstructed fashion at GRÜNWASCHEN
Our Raw & Upcycled edit brings together pieces using reconstruction, reuse, deadstock materials and other approaches to working with existing resources.
Depending on the current selection, you may find:
- upcycled jackets and coats
- reworked and reconstructed denim
- one-of-a-kind dresses, skirts and tops
- pieces made from existing garments
- deadstock materials
- upcycled bags and accessories
- experimental pieces produced in very small quantities
Many of these pieces exist only once, so the selection changes regularly.
Explore the Raw & Upcycled edit
Explore expressive pieces
Explore the Made in Berlin edit
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View designers at GRÜNWASCHEN
Visit GRÜNWASCHEN in Berlin
GRÜNWASCHEN
Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 25
10178 Berlin
Germany
We are in Berlin-Mitte, directly next to Volksbühne and close to Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz and Alexanderplatz.
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More Berlin fashion guides
Independent Fashion Shopping in Berlin
Berlin Fashion Designers & Independent Brands
Cool Shops in Berlin-Mitte
Where to Find Statement Pieces in Berlin
FAQ
Where can I buy upcycled fashion in Berlin?
GRÜNWASCHEN in Berlin-Mitte carries a changing selection of upcycled and reconstructed fashion from independent designers. RARE Collective in Friedrichshain is another useful destination for Berlin upcycling designers, while Like A Casino in Kreuzberg also combines reworked fashion with art, design and events.
What is the difference between upcycled and recycled fashion?
Upcycling usually transforms an existing garment, textile or object directly into something new. Recycling generally involves breaking material down into fibres, components or another raw form before making a new material or product.
What is the difference between upcycled and reworked clothing?
The terms often overlap. Reworked or reconstructed clothing usually keeps an existing garment as a recognisable base and changes it through cutting, sewing, adding or reshaping. Upcycling can involve a more complete transformation, including combining materials from several existing pieces into something new.
Is deadstock fashion the same as upcycled fashion?
No. Deadstock usually refers to material that was already produced but never used for its original purpose. A new garment can be made from deadstock fabric without technically being an upcycled garment.
Does upcycled fashion always look reconstructed or patchworked?
No. Upcycling has developed a recognisable visual language, but an upcycled piece can be extremely subtle. At the same time, a completely new garment can be designed to imitate the look of reconstruction without using any existing materials.
Which Berlin designers work with upcycling?
Berlin designers and labels working with upcycling or reconstruction include Azul Ballestero, Atelier J.Santana, dan0m00n, HARAM, COUTURE RELOADED, tHERAPY Recycle & Exorcise and Fade Out Label. Their methods and aesthetics are very different, from reconstructed denim and discarded garments to sneaker upcycling and playful one-of-a-kind pieces.
Is every piece at GRÜNWASCHEN upcycled?
No. GRÜNWASCHEN works with independent designers using different production methods. The selection includes upcycled and reconstructed garments, but also small collections, one-of-a-kind pieces, jewellery, accessories and fashion made using other approaches.
