Brand
Upcycled children's wear
Do you still have a nice men’s shirt in your home that’s lying around gathering dust? Or are you just looking for unique and upcycled clothing for your child or baby? Then be sure to check out Les Essentiels de Gaëlle! This is a fun, local upcycling clothing brand from the Flemish Brabant town of Overijse, near Brussels.
Founder Gaëlle started upcycling as a hobby. It all started with her husband’s favorite shirt that had had its heyday, but was still too precious to throw away. Gaëlle decided to turn the shirt into a summer dress for her daughter, and other shirts she transformed into camisoles for her sons. Soon friends came with requests to have their treasured garments transformed into new pieces as well. Les Essentiels de Gaëlle was born.
Gaëlle loves to be creative, has a passion for children’s fashion and believes that reuse, upcycling and circular business are the way to a better and healthier world. If you want to buy an item from this brand, you can bring in a beloved piece yourself and pick a pattern or choose from their own collection of timeless pieces. Only one new item is made from each shirt, which means every child wearing Les Essentiels de Gaëlle has a 100% unique garment!
All Les Essentiels De Gaëlle garments are made in Belgian sewing workshops. Because production takes place in Belgium, the ateliers are subject to Belgian and European labor regulations and we can be sure that conditions are ethical. By working locally, Gaëlle also keeps the chain short, a win-win situation!
Upcycling the shirts is an intensive process that involves a lot of work and hours. You can be sure that the clothes are made with love and attention, to have a long future!
All of Les Essentiels De Gaëlle’s garments are made from 100% upcycled and therefore recycled materials. How does this work? The collar and cuff are usually worn and therefore not used, these are replaced with fabric cut from other parts of the shirt. The buttons on the children’s shirts and dresses are the originals from the men’s shirt. Thus, no new materials are used!
Gaëlle selects the shirts before they can be used for new garments. She chooses shirts made of quality cotton, never polyester. So everything is made from natural materials and is therefore biodegradable (except for the buttons), the pieces are also recyclable.
You may wonder where the shirts used for Gaëlle’s fashion come from, currently they (still) come from friends, facebook calls or from people sending them in to be upcycled into their own new garment. In short, definitely not from mass collections.
All dresses, shirts and cute baby outfits are upcycled and therefore classifiable as circular. Did you know that a circular garment stitched locally saves up to 96% of the carbon footprint? Very ecologically responsible in other words!
The fabrics consist of natural materials which means they are basically biodegradable and, if they are a mono material (in this case, 100% cotton), also recyclable.
The mission of Les Essentiels de Gaëlle is to give as many shirts as possible a second life as dresses or camisoles for 0 to 10-year-old boys and girls. To do this, Gaëlle uses fabrics from shirts that are too beautiful to throw away, but that the original owners no longer wear. With this mission and local production, the brand is completely in line with the circular and short-chain principle.
No animals have to suffer for Les Essentiels De Gaëlle’s clothing, in fact, Gaëlle does not use shirts made from animal materials. Here you will find only cotton, upcycled garments. Good news for those who like to see their children in vegan clothing!
At Les Essentiels De Gaëlle you can have a shirt with (or without) emotional value transformed or choose a shirt from the collection for your child. Each with a unique character, so it fits well with your child’s style, and because one shirt is always made from one garment, you will never meet anyone in the same dress or shirt! Unless you have passed it on to a friend or family member of course. Each piece is unique and made to order.
In the collection you will find clothes for boys and girls from 2 to 10 years and there is also a baby model, in total there are four different models in which the shirts can be made. Those models have a timeless look so they can last as long as possible!
If you would like to score a circular and locally produced outfit for your son, daughter or baby, be sure to take a look at Les Essentiels De Gaëlle. Gaëlle will be happy to help you out! See where to shop this brand on the COSH! map.
