Marine Serre's Hard Drive exhibition showcases upcycling process at Lafayette Anticipations

Fashion designer Marine Serre's exhibition Hard Drive at Lafayette Anticipations in Paris displays her upcycling manufacturing process, developed over four years with Portuguese manufacturer Dcloset. Serre, who founded her brand in 2017, produces half her collections from deadstock and used clothing, incorporating household textiles like bedspreads and carpets. The exhibit features a reconstituted atelier and pieces from her current collection set among caravans, echoing the DIY workshop of Andrea Crews at Palais de Tokyo in 2002. Serre's method involves sorting discarded clothing and cutting around stains and holes, yielding output similar to haute couture—15 pairs of trousers per day compared to 300 for conventional brands. She reverse-engineers designs from salvaged materials, avoiding eco-vocabulary like 'sustainable' in exhibit texts. The show highlights her avant-garde business sense amid supply chain disruptions, positioning her locally amid discarded abundance. From the April 2022 issue of ArtReview.