Crafting a new future

Earlier this year, Reese Cooper found himself in a predicament familiar to many independent designers. A sizable portion of the American brand’s stockists had reduced or cancelled their seasonal orders due to the pandemic, leaving Cooper with a whole lot of fabric and not enough garments to sew. Meanwhile, a trend was emerging on TikTok: stuck at home, creative teenagers were filming and sharing videos of themselves ‘thrift flipping’, in which vintage clothes are given a DIY glow-up. Cooper, a teen himself not that long ago (last year, at 21, he became the youngest-ever CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist), quickly realised this crafty movement was something his brand could play into.

“The project came from a sustainable angle – recycling materials. But I also