Reverse Converse
Aoibhin Kocikowska
The items used to create this outfit were sourced from local charity shops as well as left over fabric from a previous project and her own old jewellery.
Aobhin was inspired by similar runner upcycles she had seen on line and decided to incorporate this technique using Converse into her outfit design.
Wicklow County Council
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The skort - skirt with shorts underneath - is made from a pair of tracksuit bottoms.
Aoibhin first removed the waistband, she then cut strips from the bottom of the legs of the tracksuit and sewed them together creating a layered patchwork, arranging the strips so that the blue panel creates a kind of brickwork pattern. She then made the top part of the tracksuit legs into shorts by hemming the bottom and reattaching them to the waistband under the skirt.
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To create the top she deconstructed the Converse removing the canvas top from the rubber sole.
She kept one shoe with the toe intact for the front of the top and separated the two sides of the other shoe, stitching one to either side of the front shoe.
She made two long strips of blue lacing from a length of scrap fabric she had from a previous project by sewing it inside out and then turning it the right way.
She created the straps and corset lacing at the back by sewing the strips to the front shoe and lacing it through the eyelets at the back.
When she tried it on she realised it didn’t fit so she made it bigger by adding a strip of fabric between the two shoes harvested from the blue side panel of the tracksuit leg.
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The bag was made by removing the front part of the sole from each shoe and inserting one shoe into the other before glueing it back together.
The seam is covered by a piece of a belt with the buckle used to close the bag.
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Aoibhin researched cotton production, focusing on the short amount of time it takes for cotton to decompose - one of the positives of cotton.
