MIU MIU AND LEVI’S LATEST COLLABORATION REIMAGINES VINTAGE FASHION

By Emma Moneuse

The collaboration follows a trend of creating one-of-a-kind items from pre-existing pieces.

Miu Miu has announced a collaboration with Levi’s on a collection of upcycled denim, featuring vintage Levi’s jeans, denim jackets, and shorts with an added Miu Miu flare. The partnership will offer a mix of vintage and luxury clothing all with a sustainable twist, increasingly more important in brand collaborations.

Miu Miu began its “Upcycling by Miu Miu” program last fall by transforming 80 pre-existing vintage dresses into newly fashioned creations toting Miu Miu embroideries and embellishments. The Italian fashion house, founded by Miuccia Prada and known for its whimsical, cutesy aesthetic, will now continue its sustainable efforts, this time in partnership with the iconic denim brand through the Upcycled by Miu Miu x Levi’s capsule.

The partnership emerges as other luxury brands strive to meet demands for more environmentally friendly fashion. Earlier this year, English fashion house Alexander McQueen paired with luxury resale site Vestiaire to create an online space for customers to resell old McQueen items in return for store credit. Similarly, online resale brand The RealReal partnered with multiple luxury fashion houses, including Stella McCartney and Balenciaga, to reimagine unusable pieces into new items.

Reselling or upcycling creates a circular business model for brands. Much more than just recycling, circularity allows for the re-creation of existing items. Upcycling is about transformation. According to an official statement by Miu Miu, each of the pieces will be one-of-a-kind creations: “Only 1,000 pieces will be distributed worldwide making no two pieces the same.”

The fashion industry is one of the largest producers of material waste and greenhouse gases. While 95 percent of all textiles have the potential to be reused or recycled, currently only 15 percent of materials enter into the circular lifespan. Partnerships centered on upcycling have the ability to rewrite that narrative while reviving the life of vintage clothes.

The Upcycled by Miu Miu x Levi’s line will launch May 24 both online and at Miu Miu’s 57th Street boutique in New York, Dover Street Market Los Angeles and in Canada at Holt Renfrew and Miu Miu Vancouver. Until then, you can peruse the campaign imagery, shot by Johnny Dufort, which features Emma Corrin, Lila Moss, and Georgia Palmer.

Image credit: Johnny Dufort

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