Brooklyn based brand, Bergwerk, is setting the tone for a more eco-friendly fashion industry with its environmentally positive approach of scouring the city to find recyclable materials that can be magically transformed into a completely unique garment.
Established in 2013, through the ingenious mind of Gertrude Berg, Bergwerk is the culmination of an ecological metamorphosis. In a simpler phrase, take the old and make it new. Berg grew up in Austria and crossed the pond to study at the School of Fine Arts in Boston where she obtained an arts degree. She took an interest in sculpture, which inspired her original take on shape and the idea of reusing components that are already in existence. New York City is littered, for lack of a better word, with recyclable materials that most people bypass regularly. It’s encouraging to see brands such as Bergwerk take a second glance and envision someone else’s “waste” as something better, something refreshed.
Upon hunting down discarded fabrics from the fashion industry, the formerly hopeless textiles are salvaged and repurposed into a brand new garment. The soul of Bergwerk’s transformation process is behind Berg’s influence of the city and the art of sculpture resulting in avant-garde layering and precise stitch-work. There are no other alterations made to each individual piece besides the stitching, which means there is no extra cutting of the fabric. Just like in centuries past, the practice of utilizing all of something still rings true today in Bergwerk’s designs. Nothing is left to waste.
An awesome aspect of Bergwerk is that every piece is one of a kind. No two are the same, which really allows the wearer to fully express their individuality. Not discriminatory to age, no matter how young or old you are, its garments are appropriate for all. Anyone can take part in helping our planet in a stylish and conscious way by purchasing an original Bergwerk design.
The style focus behind its design process is women’s overall beauty and confidence at the forefront. Nothing is more beautiful than feeling amazing in something that has potential to change habits and generate a new, sustainable direction for the future. Another super cool fact about Bergwerk is all of their garments are hand-wash only! So not only does it rescue scrapped textiles from a trash-hell, it also promotes energy efficiency! Buh-bye, washer and dryer!
Bergwerk is sort of like Cinderella’s fairy godmother to recyclable materials if you really think about it. It takes sad scraps and transforms them from rags to ecofriendly riches. Bergwerk is continuing to pioneer the way for our world to stop dreaming of a better place and in fact start making it a reality, one refurbished piece of fabric at a time. It’s true someone’s trash really is someone else’s treasure.
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Image via Bergwerk