Introducing: CH Studio – Upcycling the Fashion Game

CH Studio – a unique design duo from Copenhagen – is all about making comfortable and environmentally conscious cotton garments, upcycled from secondhand textiles. Their unapologetic use of bright colours, clever patchwork, and fierce pattern mixing, give a sense of playfulness to the clothes.

The duo behind CH Studio – Caroline Hundsholdt and Nicolai Anker – love to go treasure hunting for pre-owned textiles and create unique new pieces out of old and worn. Since all of the materials are handpicked, each and every piece is one-of-a-kind, which is also a tribute to altered and more responsible consumption ideas. CH Studio invites all customers to slow down and value every piece of clothing they own – and we couldn’t agree more. We were curious to find out more about this cute Copenhagen-based brand and their clever solutions for a sustainable fashion future. 

What is the concept that CH Studio builds on? 

At CH Studio, our goal is to combine visual inspiration with sustainability. The studio sees opportunities in materials others don’t even see life in anymore. We hope and believe that the work we are doing within our very small business, can make a change in the bigger picture. We want our customers to invest in that one dress they absolutely love, instead of buying multiple cheaper styles for the same amount of money. Hopefully it creates awareness about our mindset regarding fashion consumption.

“The fabrics tell their own stories, and our dream is to give people the opportunity to continue this storytelling many years to come with a CH Studio garment in their closet.”

What is the best part about running CH Studio?

We absolutely love to go treasure hunting for textiles. Every piece of fabric comes with a story, a story that can inspire the entire design process. We have seen tablecloths with embroidered names and initials, which makes this thing we are doing very special.  

Also, to get so much love from our surroundings towards what we are doing – that keeps the drive and motivation to create more beautiful styles. We really feel the love when we receive ‘textile-gifts’ from friends and family, who are excited to see what we can transform familiar fabrics into. It gives us the feeling of a united mission.  

Tell us about your process – what is it like to work with second-hand materials?

A big challenge about using recycled materials is the amount of time we spend on going through everything, checking for flaws. We often get fabrics in odd sizes, with holes, stains etc. We have to change our designs a lot because of constant quality checks, but it makes the design process last longer and it challenges us to always come up with solutions. Another beautiful thing about the process is how unique all pieces end up, because we often have a very small amount of each fabric. Almost every single time we are about to cut, we ask ourselves: “do we really want to cut into this beautiful tablecloth?” It’s easy to feel connected to the beautiful textiles, even before they become garments.

“The process is slow, but that is exactly why we do it, to take time to use the already existing textiles that deserve another life.”

What are your thoughts on Copenhagen Fashion Week? Do you dream of showing your garments there one day? 

CPHFW is one of the few fashion weeks where the small also gets a chance. The fashion stage needs a platform for both the big established brands and the small newcomers – CPHFW is exactly that. It would be a great stage for CH Studio one day, since they have a big focus on creating a sustainable platform for the brands. 

In a perfect world, how would people go about fashion? 

We would love for fashion to slow down! And that goes both for consumers and creators. We need to take care of our clothes for much longer, we need to buy less but better, and consumers should put their money in projects and values they believe in. 

How can we encourage a better fashion future as consumers? 

It takes time to create sustainable habits that suit you. Clothing is our language and it can make you vulnerable to go to unknown grounds when it comes to clothing. But with that being said, it’s all in the mindset. We need to forget about seasons and those fast-paced trends.

Take care of what you own and think twice before you buy new. 

If you love CH Studio as much as we do, show them your support and slide into their DM’s for orders!

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