- CONCEPT -
From broken umbrella to rain and wind cape
The observation
Our industrial life means that we produce more and more “ephemeral” products.
We throw away a lot of raw materials that we could easily reuse and put back into the circular economy.
So I decided to start my adventure by recovering umbrella fabric and creating a utilitarian garment out of it, the rain cape. The umbrella is just one example of the thousands of objects with “technical obsolescence” that we consume on a regular basis. It's still a very affordable product because of its low price, but it's still very toxic for our environment.
Upcycling at the heart of Marypup
Upcycling involves transforming materials or objects destined for disposal into high-quality or functional products.
By giving new life to existing resources, it helps to reduce waste and preserve natural resources.
The Marypup concept
Marypup recovers broken umbrellas on the street or from collection boxes, giving them a second life by transforming them into wind and rain capes.
I then take the bulk of the product by dismantling the fabric from the metal frame. Of course, I have to check the condition of the fabric before washing it and grouping it by color and size/length.
When making rain cape, a selection must be made to determine which ones will be used as capes or hoods.
It's at this point that the composition is made, for the best ensembles! I cut with the help of patterns, sort the threads and pulls, cut the motifs and prepare the final packaging and label for my garment. It's all meticulous work!
Why choose umbrellas?
Umbrellas are often of poor quality, and it's rare to be able to keep them in good condition over the long term. A basic umbrella, costing between 3 and 7 euros, is made in Asia in 90% of cases. Every year, 10,000 of them end up in the garbage can. Worse still, incineration of the metal ribs costs more than the object itself, and is highly toxic for the environment.
For several years now, I've been noticing these broken umbrellas piling up in our garbage. After every episode of rain and wind, they're everywhere.
Umbrellas are just one example of the thousands of disposable objects we constantly over-consume. Why do we do this? Because they are mass-produced to be sold at low prices. But what if we only opted for “second hand”? I decided to recover umbrella fabric to create a utilitarian garment, accessible to all, that takes up the umbrella's primary function: to protect us from the rain.
