Upgrading the Ordinary: Top 7 Brands Embracing Recycling Innovation
Berlin, the creative heart of Europe, continues to lead the way in sustainable fashion. The city's dynamic and progressive fashion scene is marked by a strong emphasis on eco-friendly materials, ethical production, and innovative approaches to sustainability.
During the recent Berlin Fashion Week 2025, the city solidified its reputation as a hub for sustainable and avant-garde fashion. Young talents like Rommel Berlin were given platforms, and collective shows featuring sustainable designers were showcased.
One of the standout brands at the event was Haderlump, a Berlin-based sustainable fashion label. For the Autumn/Winter 2023 collection, Haderlump repurposed old leather jackets, military uniforms, and parachutes, demonstrating a commitment to circularity. The brand's Spring/Summer 2024 collection, named Opus Manuum, showcased metallic elements, rough, futurist cuts, and oversized garments.
Another notable brand is mohlagé, founded by Marie Edith Renate in 2019 as an upcycling project. Mohlagé creates timeless and timely pieces made entirely from recycled and deadstock fabrics and second-hand garments. Their signature pieces include pastel corsets made from tablecloths, curtains, deadstock vintage jacquard fabric, and other materials.
Camila Maldonado, a designer based in Berlin, creates environmentally-conscious fashion for fairy-esque romantics with a touch of grunge. Maldonado's studio is located at Fürbringerstr. 32, Kreuzberg, and can be reached through themaldonado.club or on Instagram @maldonadoc_. Her signature pieces, which range from €68-190, include pastel corsets made from tablecloths, curtains, deadstock vintage jacquard fabric, and other materials.
Eric Friesen, an up-and-coming designer, creates distressed denim patchwork garments under his label Josef. Orders for Josef's pieces can be made via DM on Instagram @josef_upcycling, with prices ranging from €90-500.
Wallawalla, founded by Frederike Wehpke last year, reworks discarded or unwanted clothes into stylish triangle shoppers or festival-ready crossbody bum bags, using clips and straps made from recycled plastic. Wallawalla's bags can be purchased on Etsy.com/shop/wallawallaberlin or via DM on Instagram @wallawallaberlin.
The collaborative studio ONEOFAKIND, founded by designers Softskill Atelier, Lelektra, and Still Apparel, offers vintage fashion, resells pre-loved clothes, and co-curates outfits from the designers' individual collections. ONEOFAKIND's prices range from €50-250 and their location is Schöneleinstraße 26, Kreuzberg. Softskill Atelier, one of the designers in ONEOFAKIND, shoots upcycling tutorials for YouTube and hosts design markets with fellow upcycling designers.
Avenir, another Berlin Fashion Week contestant, specializes in upcycling denim and produces pieces on a small scale in Poland and Portugal.
Berlin's sustainable fashion brands are not only making waves locally but also on the broader European stage. For instance, Armedangels, headquartered in Cologne but influential in Germany’s sustainable fashion scene, has increased its recycled material use to 12% and has won awards like the German Ecodesign Award and PETA’s Vegan Fashion Award in 2024.
The city's status as a creative incubator for sustainable fashion is underscored by fashion week highlights, awards, and rising talents championing sustainability. It's clear that Berlin is at the forefront of the sustainable fashion movement, pushing boundaries and setting new standards for a greener, more ethical future in the fashion industry.
- Berlin's lifestyle, beyond fashion, also heavily emphasizes home decor and gardening, with brands like Wallawalla reworking discarded clothes into stylish accessory items, such as triangle shoppers and festival-ready crossbody bags, proving that sustainability can extend to home-and-garden shopping as well.
- While shoe shopping in Berlin, one might find brands like mohlagé, offering a range of unique, eco-friendly fashion-and-beauty products made entirely from recycled and deadstock fabrics.
