Outerwear from the old car seats; sweaters and hoodies from the mattresses… For SEVALI, It is possible to create any couture piece from any material!

I met with SEVALI while reading VOGUE Talents February issue. It took my attention because it is unusual to find ‘upcycled couture’ in the fashion industry where sustainability is gaining acceptance just recently. Until now, the notion of ‘upcycled/sustainable fashion’ has been mainly applied on casual wear.

In order to  learn more about SEVALI and to introduce it to sustainable fashion followers, we made a very special interview with  young designer, Sebastian A. de Ruffray,  the creator of Paris based label.

When did you started SEVALI? Is there a story behind SEVALI?

  “Our first show was on January last year under the frame of the Haute Couture  Week in Paris.”

“I created SEVALI as a way of putting in question the current practices in the fashion industry. The name of the brand comes from the mix of the initials of my full name.”

‘Passion for fashion’ or ‘passion for sustainability’; which one made you start SEVALI?

“I have always been interested in creation and expression, fashion appear spontaneously as the medium to achieve that. At the same time, I have always found attraction to find and object and to sense the nostalgia that they transmit. Parallel, I believe, it  is not possible to do fashion without being environmentally conscious. SEVALI started as a way of merging and expressing this two concepts.”

When did your awareness about sustainable fashion first start?

“From the moment I decided it was what I wanted to do in life. For me it has always being important to do something meaningful.”

 “Sometimes when you work in fashion it can be complicated to find sense in what you do, it can feel shallow or unnecessary. It is essential for me to know that what I am doing is socially contributing.” 

Why did you decided to work specifically on ‘couture’?

“Couture gives us freedom, we don’t work under the pre-existing frame of the industry so it was natural for us to work closer from ‘Couture’.”

“Our pieces are made in Paris and our production process is very artisanal, most of our pieces are unique. This way of working feel closer from the characteristic of couture.”

If you ever want to do a line extension, what will it be?

 “We would definitely like to create more wearable and easy pieces we are in the stage of evaluating that idea. We would also like to explore other creative fields such as filming or fine arts.”

What materials do you use for upcycling? Is there a specific selection of materials? Do you use only fabrics for upcycling?

“We attempt to push the boundries of upcycling, in every collection we experiment with an unexpected material. This season it was car seats from old cars that we turn into outerwear, vintage bags and purses, scarves, etc… In the past we have also worked with mattresses that turned into jackets, old sweaters, hoodies, socks, etc… We try to be as open as possible we the materials we use, finding new ways of giving them a second life…”

Is it ‘the garment’ that shapes your designs or is it ‘the design’ making you look for a specific garment?

 “Each discarded garment we find has already a certain mood, the cool thing with upcycling is that whatever you do with the clothes it will always transmit that initial energy in a higher or lower frequency. We always want to transmit a mood so we source pieces that already help us delivering that message. I would say is both ways, in some cases is the garment that dictates the direction, in others we look for a material that will help us achieve the idea.”

What/Who is your inspiration in fashion and what audience would you like to inspire by SEVALI?

 “I would like to inspire anyone that feels attracted to what we do and the idea that you can create contemporary fashion in a responsible way. We are inspired by youth, urban living, and social issues.”

What kind of changes do you expect at the end of this mass quarantine? In which ways this pandemic (Covid-19) will affect SEVALI?

From a positive point of view, despite the uncertainty that you can feel on these times I think it is a good opportunity for everyone to reflect on which things you can change, improve or stop doing. I think the people are coming back to the essential and will be more conscious with their way of consuming. Under that new context I think SEVALI will be an interesting player.