At Beyond Retro, we sift through a tidal wave of secondhand product to bring you the very best in trend-led vintage. But only 1 in 1,000 items make it to our shop floors. Label is our answer to the other 999. But crafting clothes from clothes is complicated, how do we make this work?
We hoard quality. Our raw material reserve is a thing of beauty and a real beast to maintain; sorters file through 93 million pounds of clothes per year to keep our shops stocked with vintage and our factory shelves flush with fabric. That’s like 60 olympic size swimming pools filled with silk, suede, leather and more: it’s a goldmine of great stuff - and a good way to save 600,000 garments from landfill.
With the raw material sorted, we move forward with designs that tell individual stories. From London to Sweden, we consult our collective vintage wish-list and compare it with our vision for tomorrow to craft fashion with a foot in both worlds. Style that goes above and beyond, forecast a year in advance - yet made with the fabric of years past.
Next, we sort and steam: then we reach for the scissors (and the seam-ripper). We also crop, chop, and taper existing styles to make them more modern. Beyond Retro LABEL is made entirely from secondhand fabrics, and trims and hardware are re-used when possible. Pocket change becomes branding bling: we stamp spare pennies with our Anchor logo. We think that’s pretty clever.
Shop from our amazing range of corset tops in variations of different reclaimed tapestry and velvet that would have otherwise gone to waste. Every style is unique!
We have given a new lease of life to knitwear. Choose from knitted styles where we have cut old jumpers into a new shape such as crops or vests. Or shop our mended knits which we have repaired by adding contrast stitching.
We can't get enough of cord for this season! We have used reclaimed cord to make a variety of tote bags in multiple shades. Or check out our resized cord trousers which we have tweaked for the perfect fit.
