Celebrating Earth Day

A Q&A with Freya Simonne

“The Future of Fashion Will Be Made from the Past”

In celebration of Earth Day 2024, we’ve teamed up with upcycling expert Freya Simonne. With almost 10 years of experience in the fashion industry as a designer, Freya created her brand following a decision to dedicate her time to a vocation that would better align with her values and actively help to reduce harm to the planet.

Having been directly confronted with the vast quantity of discarded clothing in the industry, today, Freya’s aim is to inspire people to pay attention to the value of the garments they already own, seeking to simply reimagine them and their potential. Using exclusively vintage textiles, Freya Simonne not only designs exquisite, one-of-a-kind pieces, but offers priceless opportunities to educate her audience and give back to local communities.

With this knowledge, we were thrilled at the chance to send Freya a selection of our strike offs ahead of Earth Day, including those from our Responsible Edit, which are made with 100% recycled materials. Strike offs are created within the industry as fabric samples, allowing us to check prints and ensure they are perfect before being put into production. Now, thanks to this collaboration, we have been able to ensure that this material is put to good use – in the form of a one-off Freya Simonne creation that is now available for you to call your own! 

We sat down with Freya to get the full scoop on all things upcycling ahead of Earth Day – if you’ve been wondering how to spend this important annual occasion, why not let us inspire you? 

Hope & Ivy: Freya! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat to us about Earth Day and all you do at Freya Simonne. Tell us a little bit about the inner workings of your brand and what Earth Day and caring for our planet means to you. 

 

Freya: Caring for our planet is the brand. Before I started Freya Simonne I had an Instagram account called ‘Protect Our Mother’ which really sums it up. Growing up and experiencing beautiful nature on the little channel island of Jersey, I have always been happiest when surrounded by the best of what Mother Nature has to offer, as I think is true for so many of us. Seeing the destruction we are creating across the planet is devasting and I feel if I can at least try to do something more positive in my little corner of the world, working to ensure that Mother Nature’s resources are left for her, then it feels like a step in the right direction. That is why I exclusively use vintage, preloved, and secondhand materials. Even down to the buttons! 

Hope & Ivy: What was the first item you remember upcycling? Has it always been a passion of yours? 

Freya: The first thing that led me towards creating Freya Simonne as a brand was a jumpsuit during lockdown. It had a cold shoulder that I didn’t love so I chopped those bits off and made a scrunchie with the extra material. I still wear the jumpsuit and it’s one of my favourites. That’s what is so great about upcycling – there is so much potential in the things we already own if we have the time and skills to rework or tweak elements of them. 

Hope & Ivy: What is your typical process when it comes to creating a one-of-a-kind garment? 

Freya: The way I work is almost backwards when compared to the traditional processes in the fashion industry. I use mostly vintage home textiles – quilts, tablecloths etc – so my process always starts with the fabric and then I decide what will be the best shape for it and work backwards from there. Creativity in reverse! 

Hope & Ivy: Where do you find your inspiration for upcycling and where did you first find your passion and interest in fashion? 

Freya: I have always loved getting dressed and have found power in the joy and confidence that fashion can bring. I started working with fabric for the first time properly during my textiles GCSE which led to me completing an art foundation course. After sampling all the different creative pathways, I knew that fashion was the only one for me. Inspiration, for me, is often more of a feeling and can be informed by anything. It could be something I have seen, or watched, or heard. I think my usual aesthetic is quite feminine and similar to how I like to dress personally, but I also want it to be timeless. I try not to overthink it and most of my best-selling shapes are designs that were inspired by the vintage materials they were made with. 

Hope & Ivy: What’s been the biggest challenge in creating Freya Simonne as a brand? What’s been your biggest ‘pinch me’ moment? 

Freya: The biggest challenge is definitely balancing all of the elements of the business vs the time I have. It is still just me running Freya Simonne and I now have an amazing daughter that I am with for 5 out of 7 days in the week, making time my biggest challenge. Beyond that, it is often just a case of finding the right fabric as I am at the mercy of what others are selling and so it is often a waiting game. I think I have two clear ‘pinch me’ moments – one being my pop-up in the iconic Selfridges store, and the second a feature in British Vogue. 

Hope & Ivy: What advice would you give to anyone looking to start upcycling their own clothing from home? 

 

Freya: Just start! I think we can often be held back by worrying about making mistakes or it not working out, but if you don’t wear the piece of clothing you’re looking to upcycle anyway, there is nothing to lose. If there is a chance you’ll be able to breathe new life into something you already have, then it’s totally worth it. For you, for your wallet, and for our beautiful planet. 

Hope & Ivy: And finally... tell us all about your newest piece, designed using Hope & Ivy fabrics! Why did you opt for these prints in particular? 

Freya: Having worked in the industry myself for 10 years, when you first sent the selection of your beautiful strike offs, I was able to appreciate how many of these get sadly thrown away due to their size. With that in mind, it was a real joy to be able to rework these into this dress. Because of the size of the pieces, I knew it would have to be something with a lot of panels so that’s where I started. The prints are all so beautiful, which made it hard to choose a selection to work with, but these ones fell together quite naturally, and I’m so pleased with the finished result. 

Hope & Ivy: Thank you so much for your time, and for creating such a special design using our fabrics! What a wonderful way to celebrate Earth Day!

If you'd like the chance to purchase this one-of-a-kind piece, or view more of Freya's stunning designs, check out her site below.

Freya Simonne