Every year, billions of meters of fabric are produced, only to be forgotten. Leftovers from fashion houses. Surplus from garment factories. Canceled orders. Outdated trends. These are the orphans of the fashion world, materials that never make it to the runway, the store, or your wardrobe. In industry terms, they’re called deadstock. But in the hands of visionary designers and resourceful brands, deadstock is coming back to life.
Welcome to a growing movement where waste isn’t the end of the story, it’s the beginning of something better.
What Is Deadstock, Really?
Imagine shelves upon shelves of beautiful fabric collecting dust. These are deadstock textiles, leftover rolls from mills, unsold stock from designers, or unused materials from canceled orders. Once destined for landfills or incineration, these fabrics are now becoming the lifeblood of a more circular and conscious fashion industry.
Whether due to overproduction, minor flaws, or fast-changing trends, deadstock is a product of fashion’s excess. But increasingly, it’s being reclaimed as a resource.
Designers Turning Discard into Desire
Some of the most exciting fashion today doesn’t start with a sketch, it starts with a pile of discarded fabric.
Marine Serre, the French designer known for her crescent moon prints, is redefining luxury with deadstock and upcycled materials. Half her collections are made from these rescued textiles from vintage towels to old lace curtains, transformed into high-concept couture.
Across the ocean, Christy Dawn in California scours fabric mills for surplus rolls to use in her vintage-inspired dresses. Every piece is numbered and sewn by local artisans in Downtown Los Angeles. “We use deadstock fabric to minimize our environmental footprint,” she says. “Instead of creating thousands of garments, we sew a limited number of pieces, each made to last.”
And in the UK, Phoebe English has, at times, created entire collections without a single new fabric. Her approach? Designing with what already exists, a quiet rebellion against the industry’s obsession with the new.
Amsterdam-based designer Ronald van der Kemp redefined glamour by proving that high fashion doesn’t have to come at the cost of the planet. Through his label RVDK – founded in 2014 – he transforms discarded materials, vintage couture fabrics, and leftover stock into bold, soulful creations that transcend seasonal trends. Each piece, infused with individuality and artistic flair, resisting the wasteful cycle of fast fashion and celebrating the unique spirit of the woman who wore it.
“Every CHRISTY DAWN piece is made by local artisans in Downtown Los Angeles, sewn with longevity in mind. We use deadstock fabric to minimize our environmental footprint, and instead of creating thousands of garments at a time, we sew a limited number of pieces, numbering every dress we make.” – Christy Dawn, founder of Christy Dawn
When Brands Build Entire Collections on Waste
Deadstock is no longer just an indie designer’s secret. Big and small sustainable fashion brands are embracing it at scale.
Reformation integrates deadstock into its trend-driven drops, blending cool-girl aesthetics with waste reduction. In Hong Kong, The R Collective collaborates with luxury brands to transform excess fabric into elegant, ready-to-wear collections.
In India, Doodlage blends factory scraps and deadstock into street-savvy pieces with a global appeal. Meanwhile, House of Marici crafts high-end accessories from surplus textiles and vegan leather, fusing Indian craftsmanship with British design. And Australian brand All The Wild Roses incorporates deadstock into up to 90% of its offerings, proving sustainability and scalability can go hand in hand.
“Fashion has a critical role in solving a lot of the problems that it has caused because ultimately the fashion industry is a beautiful industry which should be there for creativity and self-expression. It is an art form and it is such a wonderful way for us to express who we are. But at what price are we willing to enjoy this industry – that’s the big question!” – Christina Dean, Founder The R Collective
Platforms That Make Deadstock Accessible
For designers without industry connections, sourcing deadstock used to be a scavenger hunt. Not anymore.
Nona Source, launched by LVMH, is bringing luxury deadstock to emerging designers at accessible prices. Aloqia (formerly Queen of Raw) uses AI to help brands manage and resell surplus fabric efficiently, through their tool Materia MX.
FABSCRAP, a nonprofit in New York collects and redistributes textile waste from over 800 brands to students, designers, and artists. By tracking reuse data and offering workshops, they’re making sustainability more transparent and accessible.
In Sweden, Re:Textile, a research project from the University of Borås, is pioneering circular design systems and integrating deadstock into new models for product development.
“I was shocked by how much perfectly good fabric was just lying around, untouched,” says Dirk Smet, founder of Wasted Fabrics. “That’s when I knew I had to build something that gives these materials a second chance, rather than letting them go to waste.”
The Next Generation Is Already on It
Design schools and competitions are fueling this shift too. The Redress Design Award, Asia’s largest sustainable fashion competition, challenges young designers to upcycle textile waste. In India, the Circular Design Challenge by R|Elan and UNEP encourage emerging talent to use factory surplus and deadstock in their creations.
From waste to runway, these young visionaries are proving that creativity doesn’t need a blank canvas, just a new perspective.
“I’m always inspired seeing the work of emerging fashion upcyclists who make brilliant collections out of old clothes and accessories they’ve sourced from thrift stores, like Helen Kirkum in the UK, whose extraordinary sneakers are made from old ones that she and her team painstakingly rip up art and then piece back together as a new, collaged material she can cut the pattern pieces for new sneakers from.” – Wardrobe Crisis podcaster Clare Press
Why Deadstock Fabric Is Crucial for Sustainable and Circular Fashion
Reclaiming deadstock isn’t just trendy, it’s necessary. Here’s why:
- It saves resources: The water, energy, and carbon emissions already embedded in these fabrics are preserved when reused.
- It reduces waste: Every meter of deadstock used is one less meter sent to landfill.
- It fosters creativity: Designing within constraints often leads to more unique and thoughtful creations.
- It empowers small brands: For slow fashion labels, deadstock offers high-quality material in manageable quantities.
“Working with deadstock allows us to address the fashion industry’s own excess, transforming waste into opportunity. What makes it truly special is the rarity, since these fabrics are limited, every design becomes a one-of-a-kind creation, crafted with intention and impossible to replicate,” says Rashmick Bose, Co-founder of Lafaani, a slow fashion brand based in India.
But Let’s Be Honest: It’s Not All Easy
- Limited quantities: Designers can’t always replicate collections due to inconsistent fabric availability.
- Greenwashing risks: Some brands overproduce on purpose and label it deadstock.
- Storage and quality: Fabrics can degrade over time, making careful inspection essential.
The good news? Innovative platforms, better tracking, and conscious sourcing are helping to address these issues head-on.
A Final Thread
Deadstock isn’t just leftover fabric anymore, it’s fashion with a second chance. Choosing pieces made from rescued materials means reclaiming waste, redefining values, and reshaping the future. When you wear it, you wear your vote for a better fashion system.
As Clare Press say, “There are of course simpler, if less visually explicit, ways to turn the proverbial textile trash into treasure. Deadstock fabric, AKA end-of-rolls /factory surplus, piles up in warehouses essentially going to waste. Platforms such as Circular Sourcing in Australia are making this much more accessible with their digital marketplaces. Under the current business model, big brands routinely over-order by 20-40% on some styles, so they have stock on hand in case an item sells through well. Same goes for fabric. Meanwhile, minimum orders mean that smaller brands are also forced to order more than they need. All this adds up to a giant pile of deadstock crying out to be used.”
Call to Action: Know a brand turning deadstock into something beautiful? Tag them in the comments! Or post your favorite upcycled piece on Instagram and tag @slowfashion.movement. Let’s celebrate creativity that turns waste into wonder.
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Resources:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/
https://www.voguebusiness.com/
https://www.trendwatching.com/
https://www.thefashionlaw.com/
https://stateofmatterapparel.com/
