Meet the artists helping you design your own sustainable Converse

A new Melbourne store is promoting sustainability in fashion by getting local artists to help you design your own, one-of-a-kind Converse Chucks.

Ever wanted to design your own, one-of-a-kind pair of Converse? Thanks to a new store in Melbourne, you can. The best part is, you actually glow-up a pair of your old sneakers.

Converse just opened a new retail space in Melbourne, but it’s not your average shoe store. Renew Labs Fitzroy is a creative space with services to clean, repair and renew your old Converse shoes – but more importantly they’ll run workshops so you can customise your Chucks with patches, embroidery and eco-friendly dyes.

The Converse Renew Lab in Melbourne was opened to bring sustainability to a fashion staple.

We all love a shiny new thing, but considering the fashion industry is responsible for 10 per cent of all human carbon emissions, (more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined – and yes, we’re talking pre-Covid-19 times), and is the second-largest consumer of water, it’s time to find new ways of making old things shiny again.

As well as the decor, the creatives leading the workshops are all homegrown. In the first workshop series, Tamara Leacock from fashion label REMUSE Designs is hosting a workshop on how to dye a pair of Chucks using natural indigo pigment.

As a fashion designer and textile artist, Leacock works “with plant based, low impact dyes” to “design and create clothing inspired by the natural environment”.

Tamara Leacock is one of several local artists breathing life into the Renew Labs. Picture: Instagram/@remusedesigns

Leacock studied a Sustainable Development program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, then founded REMUSE when she relocated to Australia.

“I wanted the low impact textile design to be the central feature, as opposed to the addition of my label,” she explained.

So how is she bringing this planet-conscious fashion to Renew Labs?

“Renew Labs is the way of the future,” she said, “such an innovative concept at truly bridging the gap between ethical consumerism and circular design, which is the only way forward in fashion retail.

“Converse Chucks have been a fashion wardrobe essential so Renew Labs is truly leading the way in truly pushing the fashion industry towards a more sustainable future.”

“I am hoping to contribute to the larger conversation of diversity within the ethical fashion landscape – diversity beyond model diversity but diversity in design inspiration, ethos and foundational principles behind a low impact brand.”

If you can’t make it to Melbourne, but you still want to make a difference with your fashion choices, Leacock has a few tips.

Tamara Leacock leads a workshop at the Converse Renew store in Melbourne.

“Fashion enthusiasts who enjoy the styling and curatorial aspects of fashion (rather than making), can reduce their impact by making time to properly go through their wardrobe and regularly participate in clothing swaps to reduce overall consumption.”

As for your ‘special event’ pieces, Leacock recommends investing in made to order pieces over mass produced items.

If you’re a fashionista who enjoys making your own designs, Leacock suggests “upcycling and creating new clothing from your current wardrobe” to get that fresh, new feel while saving material from ending up in a dump.

You can book a workshop or find a time to re-vamp your Chucks here.