Damaged clothes, worn-out items, fabric scraps, or unsold prototypes: L'Atelier de la Matière recovers what would otherwise be thrown away. " Our role is to enhance the material for the sake of the material, meaning to recover it and use it during traditional sewing classes. And also a lot of upcycling, which is about reinventing clothing in a high-end way ,” explains Pauline Vandôme.
Each year, the association collects three tons of textiles that it aims to repurpose.
This initiative resonates with Pauline Vandôme's journey. She worked for about fifteen years as a stylist for various major ready-to-wear brands. There, she notably observed the waste associated with prototypes. " We have collections that sometimes include 600 references. And out of these 600 references, we have a first sample that will end up in the trash because it is unsellable. " A trip to India reinforced this observation: she discovered the environmental consequences of the textile industry there.
At L'Atelier de la Matière, the goal is also to change the perception of upcycling. " What we want to show is how you can be really stylish with upcycling, how we can reinvent clothes that have a beautiful identity and give them a new identity that is even more fashionable, even more trendy. "
The association also works with schools, local residents, and individuals wishing to learn sewing. It particularly welcomes retirees, young people who want to work in fashion, as well as asylum seekers and immigrants looking to have their skills recognized.
L'Atelier de la Matière has thus become a space for meeting and sharing. " A sewing workshop is a place of life, where people come because they want to exchange ideas ,” enthuses Pauline Vandôme. The association thus makes reuse a tool that is creative, ecological, and social.
L'Atelier de la Matière is an initiative suggested to us by the Milliard operation, one of whose missions is to make organizations of the Just Transition visible.
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