A line of clothes and accessories made entirely from old umbrellas. Born in 1994 from the creativity of the famous upcycling artist Catherine Edouard Charlot, of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, founder of Cfrat Lion Art, after her move to New York, the exuberant line of clothing and accessories, Himane Sustainable Designs, is made entirely by recycling old throwaway umbrellas found on the street and destined for landfills.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous
A line of clothes and accessories made entirely from old umbrellas. Born in 1994 from the creativity of the famous upcycling artist Catherine Edouard Charlot, of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, founder of the Cfrat Lion ArtAfter its move to New York, the exuberant line of clothing and accessories, Himane Sustainable Designs, is made entirely by recycling old, discarded umbrellas found on the street and destined for landfills.
Bags, totes, jackets and cute little black cocktail dresses, they all have the same characteristic, that is Catherine's manual, creative, innovative and at the same time elegant work, in addition to the raw material: umbrellas thrown away.
With the aim of creating awareness in appreciating what is made with waste materials, of giving new life and value to an old forgotten object, thus extending its history, the artist's work is not limited to using old umbrellas but it also combines other materials from local areas, such as for example denim and fabrics in certified natural materials.
But where do the hundreds of umbrellas used by the designer come from? Nothing could be easier "from the street" and more particularly from New York, after a gloomy and long rainy day!
So after collecting umbrellas, the tiring process of disassembling, washing, cutting and designing begins, to give life, not only to bags at the latest, like the travel one that seems to have printed a red plaid pattern, and also available in other colors, but also in nice ones pouch create with innovative materials, such as the fun and functional handbag Clutch Yoga (in the cover photo), made from an old yoga mat (washed of course!). Comfortable and fashionable, the Yogy Clutch is specially made to be able to insert all the essentials, wallets, sunglasses and lipstick, without missing anything from your evening.
Or what about the dress cocktail black decidedly chic and actually made up of various scraps of umbrellas from the big apple?
Just as the designer says, “every woman always needs a little black dress in her wardrobe. My clients love the model because it's so classy, and it's truly a one-of-a-kind piece. " In fact, even if the line is almost the same what changes is the origin of the material.
While if you are looking for the wedding dress of your dreams, what better investment than one made with 18 white umbrellas?
And for those wishing to take a closer look at the models and above all at the prices, it is also possible to buy online on the site himane.bigcartel.com/. A percentage of each purchase will be donated to the construction of a sustainable school in Charlot's home country in Haiti. The artist currently has a parcel of land on which to build his school, but has not yet raised enough funds to begin construction.
Gloria Mastrantonio
