Trashion victims

Recycled chic is all the rage in Barcelona, where worn-out tyres, PVC posters and old seat belts are being transformed into the season's must-have "trashion" accessories, says Duncan Rhodes.

“Recycling is amazing – you have many things and you don’t have to pay for them!” says dreadlocked Brazilian Felipe McWallace from atop one of his adapted bikes. The 28-year-old artist and Barcelona resident is part of a committed band of recycling fanatics keen to capitalise on the practice’s many environmental and economical benefits.

Recently, Felipe opened his own laboratory – woe betide anyone who refers to it as a humble shop – in the city’s Gothic Quarter, and hasn’t paid more than a handful of euros for any of the eclectic furnishings within.

“This sofa is recycled, these lights, these decorations, everything is recycled – recycled or cheap, or old, or second-hand,” he enthuses, sweeping an arm over his kingdom.

For Marcela Manrique and her partner Liliana Andrade, the streets of their home town proved a land of recycling opportunity. While visitors to the city spend more time wondering how big a jug of sangria to order at the nearest tapas bar, the pair of unemployed architects found themselves wondering about some of the other aspects of the city. In particular, what happens to all the brightly coloured banners strung up around Barcelona, once the events they’re advertising have ended.

“One day we were just walking in the city and we managed to get hold of one of these banners from the guys who were taking it down, and discovered they were made from PVC plastic,” says Marcela. Knowing a thing or two about biodegradability, and understanding that such material is almost impossible to recycle, they realised the city council must be paying a fortune to bury the banners, doing untold damage to the environment in the process.

“I knew how to sew,” says Marcela. “So I made up a bag by recycling the banner. We showed the bag to the city hall and to the Cultural Institute of Barcelona, and they loved the idea!”

With the city’s help, the resourceful duo of architects-turned-artisans launched the Demano project (www.demano.net) and have been making their eye-catching bags from reclaimed PVC posters ever since. “Our idea is to preserve the image you have seen in the street – one day you see it up hanging and the next you can wear it,” says Marcela.

However, there is a downside as recycling is an expensive business. “This material is more costly to recycle than to produce new, because there is a lot of transportation, a lot of cleaning and it has to be carefully selected,” explains Marcela. “It would be cheaper to make these bags from new material, but not so good for the environment. And if we made the bags from new plastic there would be no variety. For one event, the city creates no more than 100 banners, and from one banner we create no more than two bags, each unique.”

Since founding Demano in 1999, Marcela and Liliana have diversified, and are constantly on the lookout for new materials and fresh design talent. Demano also uses the PVC posters to create trashion accessories such as wallets, book covers and baskets, and have teamed up with designers to create some of the trendiest rain hats and wellington boots that ever kept a head or toe dry. They even make their bags from damaged kite-surfing sails, as the sport is popular in Barcelona.

Like Demano, Samuel Nualart of Pinzat (www.pinzat.com) started out making bags from recycled PVC banners, but three years ago decided to change tack. “We decided that instead of designers we wanted to begin with artists. We have a lot of friends who paint and do graffiti, so we took a chance,” he says.

Samuel handed over complete freedom of expression to the artists and, instead of using pre-printed posters, found plain industrial material for them to paint on. He and his partner, Dolca Teruel, then crafted this into record bags and rucksacks in their workshop/gallery. Aside from creating the body of the bag from unwanted offcuts, Pinzat have gone further and also recycle seat belts, complete with their buckles, to form funky, detachable carrying straps.

Contrary to Demano’s experience of recycling as a costly but ethical alternative, Pinzat’s recycling is done from a purely practical point of view. “We are not trying to save the world,” Samuel admits. “We pay for all the materials, but they are much cheaper than if they were new. Plus it’s much easier to get hold of them when they are recycled, because a lot of these materials are industrial and the companies have large minimum orders.”

In contrast, Felipe McWallace finds most of his creative materials on the streets of Barcelona during his numerous night patrols. “Barcelona is my city, and I know the exact days and times I can see nice things. The streets of Barcelona are like a shop… you only need to see and pay attention to the vibe,” he says.

Inside his laboratory the casual visitor can find a bizarre assortment of art and junk (and who’s to say which is which). Objects include Argentinian artist Ana Gendrot’s Amuleto de Plumas de Paloma, made from pigeon feathers and formerly exhibited in the Contemporary Culture Centre of Barcelona, eco-friendly bags woven by Tanzanian women, and a rusty pedal car presently doubling as a clothes rack.

However, Felipe’s signature pieces are his own customised bikes (www.coloursbike.com), available for rent around the city. After rescuing these unloved machines from the scrap heap, he decorated them inventively with eye-catching themes like the silver-foiled space machine and the polka-dotted Minnie Mouse-mobile.

“My bikes reflect the personality of the individual,” says Felipe proudly. It’s certainly true of the racing bike, which has been decorated with the belongings of Cuban pop singer Lucrecia – one of her high heels hangs above the wheel guard.

In Felipe’s mind, one thing is clear: good taste, originality and style needn’t depend on splashing silly amounts of cash. “This shirt, these Calvin Kleins, I just found on the street. You can be elegant without spending a lot of money. The soul needs to be elegant – that’s the most important thing.”

Spoken like a true trashion victim.

Get trashed!
The trend of recycling in Barcelona can be traced back to Gaudi himself, who spurned new materials and used broken ceramic tiles to piece together his splendid mosaics at Park Güell.

For the latest innovations, check out Base Elements gallery (2 C/Bxda de Viladecols, www.baseelements.net), where the resident artist recycles discarded objects into works of art. His customised statue of Christ making the peace sign is yours for just €3,500!

Banda de Rodadura (31 C/Merce, www.bandaderodadura.com) make bags, belts and the odd bit of bondage equipment from recycled car and bike inner tubes, Atticus (10 C/Lledo, www.atticusbcn.com) has several recycled fluffy friends among its designer toys collection, and in the tiny boutique Peces de Ciudad (6 C/Jerusalem, back of La Boqueria market) you’ll find bags made of old vinyl records and recycled jewellery.

At the Bel y Bel studio (www.belybel.com) in Viladecans, swivel chairs and reading lamps are made out of old Vespas and broken-down Skodas. And trashionistas can catch the latest trends at the Drap-Art recycled art festival (www.drapart.org) on 18–20 December.

Demano has a mobile boutique that is currently based inside Dou 16 (16 C/Doctor Dou, tel: +34 933 004 807, www.demano.net); Pinzat, 7 C/Grunyi, tel: +34 620 682 751, www.pinzat.com; Felipe McWallace’s Laboratory & Colours Bike, 5 C/Palma de Sant just, tel: +34 933 105 598, www.coloursbike.com