OLD PARK Upcycles Vintage Sportswear Into One-Off Flight Jackets

Functional gear brands like The North Face, Nike and Patagonia have already put measures in place to upcycle and repair vintage and damaged goods in the name of sustainability, but that hasn’t stopped enterprising young labels from upcycling unwearable goods on their own terms. Since Fall/Winter 2012, Japan’s OLD PARK has recycled undesirable goods into covetable new creations, and for Spring/Summer 2020, the label is reissuing its popular flight jackets crafted from damaged layering pieces.

Sourcing unwanted retro items from the aforementioned companies yields a host of torn, punctured, stained and well-used goods, meaning that OLD PARK has ample motive to slice the garments into minute pieces, puzzling them back together to create a familiar MA-1 flight jacket shape, complete with sleeve pocket. GORE-TEX embroidery, logos, d-rings and pockets — some still functional — dot the body of the jackets, ensuring that each completed creation is entirely unique, united by color scheme, textiles, zippered closure and ribbed hems. A slew of matching helmet bags accompany OLD PARK’s jacket rollout, along with an assortment of mashed-up shirt/sportswear sweater hybrids.

Japanese stockists like BEANS 1989 and CIRCUS offer the unique goods at prices beginning at ¥52,800 JPY (approximately $500 USD), though the one-of-one clothes are selling out quick.

Elsewhere, London’s Greater Goods employed a similar upcycling technique in the creation of its recent side bag collection.