In Marseille, a “slow fashion week” to think about fashion differently

Piled up on a red cloth laid on the floor of Marseille's Vieille Charité center, old clothes, a bit outdated, sometimes damaged, sit in the full sun. Starting off this Saturday, June 7th at 9 a.m., seven young people, all amateur creators from their bedrooms, are throwing themselves into it with the mission of "upcycling." In other words: giving unused materials a new lease of life and style so as not to destroy, throw away, or buy new ones. Once they have a few pieces in hand, they head to their workstation where a sewing machine and the right equipment await them for a three-hour challenge in the middle of the famous 17th-century cloister. For Louise, a law student in her early twenties, it will be overalls, Provençal lace, and denim, "an important material to rework," as it requires a lot of water during its manufacture. Another candidate in the running from the same generation, Matis, originally promised a future as an interior designer but who, watching the Netflix series Next In Fashion , "felt shivers all over his body" realizing that he too "can create his own clothes." Two years later, here he is embroidering the name of his brand – Maison Cattaneo – on a label to proudly display it once his piece is finished.

With this upcycling challenge, the Marseille version of Fashion Week is launched, organized for the first time by Baga. This collective was created in 2023 to "raise awareness of <