WASTE NOT WANT NOT
Sustainability is big business in high fashion, not least in accessories. Alongside epic brands like Mulberry, Burberry and Stella McCartney, there’s a rising star in Elvis & Kresse. And they’re the most passionate and ethically inventive brand on the stage
You could be forgiven for thinking Elvis & Kresse sounds like an indie band. Actually they are doing something far more wonderful and worthy. They’re a multi award-winning luxury accessories brand. An independent, self-financed certified Social Enterprise and founding UK B Corp. To date they have rescued over 200 tonnes of material that would otherwise have gone to landfill and have made charitable donations in excess of £200,000.
They have won several awards including the HSBC Start-Up Stars Green Award, the IE Award for Sustainability in the Premium and Luxury Sector and were named a Walpole Brand of Tomorrow in 2012. Amazingly, since 2005, the company has rescued and utilised all of London’s decommissioned fire hoses. In 2013 Kresse Wesling was awarded the MBE.
Kresse Wesling and James ‘Elvis’ Henrit in their New Barns Farm studio
To the rescue
In 2005 Kresse Wesling had a chance meeting with the London Fire Brigade and a very emotional response to their damaged, decommissioned fire hose. “It was too heroic and too beautiful for landfill,” she says. Ever inventive and resourceful, Kresse and her partner James aka ‘Elvis’ mounted a rescue of their own. Over the last 16 years they have saved all of London’s hoses, transforming them into a range of luxury accessories and donating 50% of the profits to the Fire Fighters Charity.
If you think that a fire hose cannot be transformed into a covetable bag, check out the picture below. Such a statement does this weekend bag make, that it that it caught the attention of V&A curator Lucia Savi, and she chose it to be displayed at the iconic Bags: Inside out exhibition. It’s been languishing the past few months due the closure of the V&A during lockdown – but when the show reopens on May 19th you can check it out ‘in the flesh’.
This handsome weekend bag is handmade from genuine decommissioned fire-hose and the lining is made from material rescued from Burberry's Yorkshire workshop and military-grade parachute silk. It’s one of a kind; no two are the same!
Tender loving care
Elvis & Kresse don’t recycle per se, they ‘”redefine materials by cherishing them, honouring them, and embedding craftsmanship and design into them, ensuring their next life is a full one.” They are, they say, re-engineers who design for utility, not for seasonality. They are also committed to repairing any of their products, prolonging their lifespan and avoiding waste.
In Kresse’s words: “It would never be enough to give an old fire hose a somewhat useful life. We must transform it, make it desirable or useful, something you would want even if it were not recycled, even without the ethics. Elvis spent five years perfecting a billfold wallet, ensuring malleability, strength, and classic, practical styling. And although it is here, and it is wonderful, he is still working on it.”
“This same dedication is applied to everything we do, from how we collect and prepare our materials to how we finish and package the pieces. Our process emulates kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. The refurbished pieces are worth significantly more than their new, undamaged counterparts. Our materials are shown this same level of care, they are cherished.”
Recycled fire hose
Tea sacks to parachutes
Over the last 16 years Elvis & Kresse has built more than 10 unique materials into its manufacturing repertoire, from tea sacks to printing blankets – always with the same methodology. All Elvis & Kresse items are handmade from reclaimed materials. Whether this is decommissioned fire-hose, luxury leather off-cuts, auction banners, printing blanket, or military-grade parachute silk. Packaging for the goods is also reclaimed, and the HQ is fully powered by renewable energy. Even the workshop is in a listed and environmentally restored Mill. The parachute silk bit fascinates me. “Parachute Silk is actually a bygone name that is still used within the industry,” says Kresse, “Nowadays this is made from rip-stop nylon and contains no animal products, and so is vegan.”
The beautiful Fire & Hide Backpack Lite has two adjustable straps made from genuine decommissioned fire-hose, a body made from rescued Burberry leather and a reclaimed lining.
Partners with Burberry
In November 2017, Elvis & Kresse launched a landmark five-year partnership with the Burberry Foundation. The company received a grant from the Foundation to support their work and will transform at least 120 tonnes of leather off-cuts from the production of Burberry products into a range of accessories and homeware. Half of the profits from this range will be donated to charitable causes focused on renewable energy. The remaining half will be reinvested by Elvis & Kresse to expand their work in reducing and reusing waste, protecting the environment and inspiring craftspeople.
Elvis and Kresse on a riverside walk wearing bags from their extensive collection. The range includes totes, weekend and clutch bags, messenger bags, cross body bags, backpacks, belts notebooks, wallets and pencil cases.