What do you get when you bring the holidays, a zero waste fashion designer, and a ’90s style icon together? Just the ULTIMATE upcycled gift collection, Full Circle! We teamed up with Zero Waste Daniel and the one-and-only Fran Drescher to make unique gifting sustainable and affordable. Here’s the best part: everything is upcycled from 100% secondhand clothes! Keep reading to discover the collection, an interview with Zero Waste Daniel, and FAQs.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
From deconstructed denim bowls to looks that would make Fran Fine jealous, our collection has the ultimate gifts to give and get.
THE HOME GOODS
Elevate your fruit with denim bowls. Party sustainably with napkins cut from button-downs and quilted outerwear coasters. And for your furry friends, you’ll want to pick up the comfiest pet beds! They don’t come with filling, but our DIY fabric Rescue Boxes make for GREAT zero waste stuffing.
THE ACCESSORIES
Your accessory game is about to blow up. The crossbody bags (a TU team favorite!) feature actual pockets from the original garment. Scrunchies come in sets of three and are made of leftover button-down material from the napkins. For all your early aughts fans, don’t miss beanies made of ribbed cuffs, and patchwork bucket hats! Finally, don’t forget to cozy up to our extra chunky, double-sided knit scarves.
THE LOOKS
The pièce de résistance of our collection. Zero Waste Daniel went above and beyond to create these pieces for your closet. Peep patchwork sweatshirts and sweatpants which can be mixed and matched! The show-stealing collector’s coats are pieced together by hand from the collection’s leftover fabric. And last but not least, Fran Drescher’s stylist and The Nanny costume designer, Brenda Cooper, gave Zero Waste Daniel some insider tips to create super-special Fran Fine-inspired looks. You’re going to want to scoop them up FAST, The Nanny fans!
MEET ZERO WASTE DANIEL
When designing his own line of upcycled clothes and accessories, Daniel just has one rule: send nothing to landfill. You might say thredUP and Zero Waste Daniel make the perfect duo. Read on to find out his inspiration for the collection, his favorite Full Circle items, and what’s #1 on his gift list.
What’s your inspiration for the Full Circle Collection?
My goal was to have almost nothing left over, which is a tall order for such a large-scale collection. thredUP sent us over 2,000 lbs of clothes! I had a great time trying to figure out how to turn the leftover scraps –the stuff after we made the bigger pieces– into things that people would want. For example, we definitely wanted to make pet beds, which meant that we’d need durable fabric like denim or canvas. Which meant that we’d have a lot of leftover denim to figure out how to use! I wanted to take something nobody wants, and turn it into things that not just someone wants, but maybe everyone wants.
What was your biggest challenge?
The hardest thing was to put myself in the thredUP mindset! I’ve been an independent designer for over a decade and no one in the fashion industry has been the perfect partner yet. They want higher quality, more creative, faster, cheaper –those things don’t really work together. thredUP’s values really aligned with mine.
thredUP is the first opportunity where I could finally say “EVERY ITEM CAN BE TOTALLY DIFFERENT!” It’s really cool to make not ten, but a thousand totally unique pieces. Normally, you have to have every piece be identical. But thredUP really celebrates the individuality of every single piece. I’m not really the only designer that worked on this collection. Every person, at every step of production, was able to make design choices. There’s a lot of really talented people who put this together with me. From my team in Brooklyn to my partners in Manhattan and Queens, this collection truly was made with love in NYC!
Describe your collection in 3 words.
Oh. My. Gosh.
Just kidding.
Fun, comfy, and cute.
What would you put in your Full Circle bowl?
I have a little shelf that’s perfect for it! I’d get the small bowl and keep my keys and AirPods in it. I’ve got my eye on a particular piece already.
Which item would you gift? And which item would you want to get?
It’s my personal belief that a really good gift is something that you know someone really wants, but would never buy for themselves. I think that the scarf and bucket hat are very high on my gifting list. They’re so luxurious and really fun. Sometimes it feels like too much to do that for yourself, they would be oh so good to get! Also, it’s party season, so the coaster set makes an amazing host gift.
I’d probably want the sweatpants. They’re just really cozy and I’m really into loungewear. The full set would be a premium gift.
What’s your all-time favorite item?
The denim coats are really special to me. I’ve never made anything like them before. The fact that there’s so few of them makes it even more special. I also made the coats by hand! You know the feeling when you’re eating your grandma’s food? Or your mom’s cookies? Where you can just taste the love? I make clothes with love. I put a lot of love into this collection and I hope people can feel that when they wear them.
FAQs
What is the collection made from?
Secondhand clothes from thredUP! Each and every item in Full Circle is made of garments that couldn’t be sold on our main marketplace. We believe every item deserves a second life, even stuff that can no longer be worn.
Do the pet beds come with filling?
The pet beds do not come with filling. To keep things zero waste, we suggest padding it with old fabric you might have or items you no longer wear. Our DIY fabric Rescue Boxes also make for the perfect sustainable alternative.
