How are things created with interesting designs?

When choosing things, we most often ask ourselves if someone else in the company will buy it or while walking around in it, will every other person wear it? Customization, online design and recycled vintage pieces have helped to get rid of that question.

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What is customization?

In general, it is generally accepted that customization is the transformation of this or that thing for a particular person. You can change anything: both old things and clothes from new collections. In the first case, you give a new life to the already worn out thing, which is not allowed to throw out by grandmother or a sense of nostalgia. In the second case, you get the opportunity to stand out from the masses, because customizable things are only in one copy.

Most often, fans of unique things buy white sneakers and try to personalize them: draw your favorite hero, paint elements on the shoes in different colors, embroider initials or patterns. Thanks to such drawings the thing becomes more valuable and unique in its kind.

The trend for customization came from the 1970s. Back then, guys from hip-hop environment painted denim jackets to stand out among people. Now the desire to be unique is only growing. In a world where things are produced in huge quantities and the assortment in one chain of stores around the world has become almost identical, you want to show that you have something special in your closet. There’s also a strongly popularized eco-activist movement right now that talks about conscious consumption. Few people want to splurge on expensive, but rare in design, so there is a fashion for handmade, with which you can develop creativity and recycle old things.

Customization is a great way to tell the world about your values. It is most fascinating to the older generation, so fashion brands have started adding customization feature on websites, because such an option increases the number of purchases among different groups of people.

customizer

I came into the profession of customizer in 2018. Before that, I had always painted, and then I saw someone’s hand-painted jacket – and it was on. Orders immediately appeared. Everyone wanted a unique thing, especially my subscribers were surprised that it was handmade. Now everything is quick and simple (food, things). And in my jackets I invest time, manual labor and my imagination. An ordinary jacket from Zara begins to have a meaning, its own Story.
Before I start painting, I communicate with a person. I find out what interests him, inspires him, what he will wear the jacket or bag with, what kind of closet his new piece should fit into. After we select references for the design, I make a mock-up of the jacket. When the design is approved by the customer, I start drawing. I work mainly with acrylic paints, less often with markers. To draw a bright and durable, I apply 3-4 layers of paint. On average, a jacket takes 8-10 hours.

How does online design work?

Now the opportunity to make a thing or a pair of shoes for yourself is available in almost any online store. You can do this with the help of an online designer, in which the buyer himself chooses the color, silhouette, material, prints and other decorative accessories. On the complexity of the design you choose depends on the term of production of the thing, usually it does not exceed five weeks. Also, a customizable thing costs a little more expensive than the one chosen for the basis.

For those who have a problem in choosing clothes according to their size, online design can help a lot. Designers assure that soon the sizes S, M and L will disappear altogether, because the consumer will be able to upload the parameters of his body and in a few days to get a perfectly fitting thing.

Today, online design has become so in demand that entire companies are created, from which a consultant comes to your home and offers a choice of several types of fabrics, collars and silhouettes that will fit you perfectly.

Why have vintage, second hand and upcycling become so popular?

In the fall of 2020, vintage clothing sales increased 104% and haven’t dropped since. Many brands have started buying vintage clothing to create a new and unique piece from it. For example, this season Marine Serre introduced multi-leather capes made with patchwork techniques. This also shows the trend’s influence on conscious consumption. Coach brand used items from past collections in this season’s collections, claiming the durability of their items, made of recycled plastic, by the way. Levi’s has a second hand store that sells only vintage jeans bought from customers or other stores.

The process of re-selling things is called “circular fashion”. This circulation of things attracts the attention of customers because they look unusual and bright, and the eco-production label entices even those who are not strongly interested in helping the environment.

In the past, vintage was only available to the wealthy residents of big cities, and to become popular, it took a long time to break the stereotype that vintage is only for the elite. Online stores and Instagram have helped a lot, where you can buy an item and save time. Now it is more popular to buy vintage jewelry, which will make your image rich and elegant.

We asked the owner of a vintage store in Instagram about why she decided to create this project, what difficulties she faced and what happens to things after purchase.

Daria Galperina

stylist, founder of vintage store

The secondary market is gaining momentum every year and is predicted to become 2 times bigger than the mass-market market by 2030. Although many people associate vintage with something old, something archival or something forgotten, it is the future! The number of investments in the vintage market is growing year after year. Why? Vintage is uniqueness. Vintage is an opportunity to experience luxury. If you don’t have luxury pieces in your closet, and you would like to – you can start building your own luxury collection with vintage!