Sustainable fashion in Lugano: giving fabrics a new life

Buy less, choose better, and learn to transform what you already have. Sustainable fashion can start with much simpler gestures than we imagine.

At Til Room, in our creative space in Lugano, fabrics, threads and clothes that seem to have reached the end often become the starting point of something new.

A hem to mend, a shirt we no longer wear, a leftover scrap in a drawer: before throwing them away, we can stop and ask whether they can be repaired, altered or transformed.

Sustainable fashion also means wearing what we already own for longer

When people talk about sustainability in fashion, they often think only of the materials used to produce a new garment.

There is another possibility: extending the life of the clothes we already have.

A small repair can let us wear a piece again. An alteration can completely change how we wear it. With upcycling, existing material can become something else: an accessory, a decoration, a bag or a new textile detail.

It is also a way to rediscover the value of handmade work.

What is textile upcycling?

Upcycling means recovering an existing material or object and transforming it into a new use, ideally increasing its aesthetic or practical value as well.

In textiles, that can mean:

• altering a garment you no longer wear;
• using leftovers to make accessories;
• personalising a piece with embroidery or appliqué;
• recovering fabrics for small creative projects;
• learning simple sewing and mending techniques.

You do not need to be a tailoring expert. Many projects can be approached even by someone picking up a needle and thread for the first time.

A different way of looking at clothes

Learning how a garment is built also changes the way we look at it.

When we know the time it takes to measure, cut, sew and finish a fabric, it becomes easier to understand why it is worth taking care of it.

This is one of the things we try to pass on in Til Room workshops: not only making something beautiful, but learning to know materials and use them with more awareness.

Upcycling and creativity in Lugano

At Til Room we offer textile and creative activities for adults and children, gathered in the Create section.

In the Agenda you can also find upcycling sessions where you can bring a garment and work on its transformation in a relaxed, creative setting.

You do not need to arrive with a perfect project. Sometimes that dress sitting in the wardrobe for months is enough.

Want to try? Discover the next creative workshops in Lugano and find the activity that suits you in the Til Room Agenda.