Ukraine-born former fashion editor Julie Pelipas is the founder of Bettter, a platform that upcycles deadstock – unsold clothing – into timeless womenswear. We caught up with her in Paris in France, where she won the LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Prize.
Tell us about your brand.
“It’s not a brand but an upcycling system. What we do is convert menswear into womenswear and we only upcycle deadstock so it’s never produced from zero and it’s only for women because the tailoring is very important.
“The concept is to partner with brands and be a solution for them and let them give their deadstock a new cycle of life so that they don’t have to burn or discard it.”
Why turn menswear into women’s garments?
“We developed a technology and to be able to have upcycling work at scale you need to have a consistency in the shapes and forms that we work with, so we keep menswear suits as the centre product.
“Also, men’s suits are constructed more smartly so we benefit women by bringing that construction into womenswear.
“As we grow and develop our technology we will add other categories to source from. The goal is to upcycle and sell locally so that the garments don’t have to travel the world.”
Why is it called Bettter?
“Bettter because we upcycle quality wise. We change the lining and stitching and make the items better. Instead of labels, we have passports for each garment where we share all the information about where it was sourced and the original brands, etc.”
How did you come up with the idea for Bettter?
“I’ve been in the media industry for almost 20 years and have seen how brands develop and operate. As a journalist and fashion director I did all I could.
“We widely covered sustainability at Vogue Ukraine but I felt it was time to do something rather than just promote something. That’s why we don’t use the word ‘sustainability’, because it should be something fundamental.
“It’s not like you do just 20 per cent or 30 per cent and you call your brand sustainable.”
How would you describe your product?
“It has a magic touch because it’s very well done in terms of quality; it’s the suit that will serve you your entire life and never get bad or old, like my grandfather’s suit, which he wore his whole life – it even got better with age. This is true luxury.
“When I get asked, why is it upcycled and the price is so high? I say that there is no chance to make it for a low price if you want to make a true quality product. If it’s cheap, it’s mass market.
“I really hope that the mindset of people will shift to buying less but better stuff that will last forever. It’s the fashion media’s fault because we are all about novelty and designers and never promote the idea of considering your choice.”
How will the LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Prize help?
“This is a huge chance to create global awareness and introduce the system to leaders. The goal is to knock on those doors and get approval to use that deadstock, so this prize is very important.
“The concept will evolve and eventually we want to open the system to other designers.”
