Luxury marketplace The RealReal releases upcycled ReCollection 02

Online luxury marketplace, The RealReal, launched ReCollection 02, the first project from its new Circular ReSource Lab, which aims to find innovative ways to address the fashion waste challenge. The RealReal’s ReCollection upcycling initiative was established to recirculate broken items that would otherwise end up in landfills.

More than 60 one-of-a-kind pieces of women’s ready-to-wear and accessories from the RealReal ReCollection 02 were upcycled from luxury things that couldn’t be worn in their current state, giving them new life and new value. ReCollection 02 is a collection of damaged products sourced from The RealReal’s collection of damaged items from designers like Prada, Gucci, Celine, and Alexander McQueen (who have no direct affiliation with the collection).

To eliminate worn fabric, long jackets were reimagined as skirt sets. Blazers with matching bralettes were created from luxe cardigans with holes. To erase discoloration, tying techniques were used to change trousers into a minidress.

Samantha McCandless, Senior Vice President of Merchandising at The RealReal said that they wanted to celebrate the return to having fun with fashion by producing a collection that felt current and positive with ReCollection 02. Taking on the design and creation of an upcycled collection ourselves has provided them with new insight into the benefits and challenges of scaling upcycling, all of which will inspire their continuous experimentation with the ReCollection initiative to expand its impact.

When designing the collection, The RealReal used data from its more than 24 million members to combine seasonal trends, colors, and silhouettes that are in high demand among its customers. ReCollection 02 combines winter essentials like outerwear and knitwear with festive pieces like two-piece sets and cocktail dresses. These one-of-a-kind sculptures range in price from $200 to $680.