Jeremy Scott fashions a couture collection out of Hyundai’s automotive waste

In recent years, upcycling has become a respected and unique way of creating new garments. With a more environmentally-conscious generation finding their style, platforms like TikTok have become awash with young people ‘flipping’ old clothes and giving them fresh life. Now, Hyundai has taken things one step further. In collaboration with one of America’s most revered and rebellious fashion designers, former Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott and Hyundai have created a line made from wheels, seat belts, tail lights, wipers and more.

The project is part of Hyundai’s Re:Style platform. The upcycling fashion platform debuted in New York in 2019, with sustainable fashion figurehead Maria Cornejo creating clothing from waste car seat fabric. In 2020 six designers worked together in London’s flagship Selfridges, and in 2021 it resulted in a collaboration between L’Eclaireur in Paris and Boontheshop in Seoul. Now, the event will be presented by AP Again, in line with Seoul fashion week and with the global launch of Hyundai’s new Kona electric car.

Of the event, senior vice president and global chief marketing office at Hyundai, Sungwon Jee says, “In line with the global launch of Kona Electric, Hyundai Motor Company is making various efforts to combine the vision of electrification with cultural content. We hope Hyundai Re:Style exhibition’s very first opening in Korea will provide an opportunity to communicate and share the brand’s vision of sustainability and innovation with our customers.” In sum, the collaboration highlights Hyundai’s growing commitment to eco-friendly manufacturing.

As a whole, the collection perfectly encapsulates Jeremy Scott’s innovative and thrilling style and design vision. Alongside deadstock fabric, Jeremy used fabrics and leftover materials from the production of HMC’s Electrify vehicles – like the IONIQ 6. The surprisingly elegant fabrics of Bio TPO Skin, made from sugar cane extract, give the collection a truly unique feel. Finished off with metallic extras, hubcaps and, the pieces come together to suggest something akin to cyber-punk and retro-futurism, with the high-tech nature of the materials offering an insight into the potential future of fashion.

Alongside the main exhibition will be the Re:Style Archive Exhibition, in collaboration with Re:Style ambassador and model Lauren Wasser. “With her own story, Wasser will represent the past three years of Re:Style archival collection and show the journey of Re:Style under the theme of diversity and innovation,” a press release explains. As a whole, Re:Style and the collaboration between Hyundai and Jeremy Scott offers a refreshing new look at the potential for the reuse of materials that traditionally end up in landfill and new perspective on the ways in which upcycling can be used in the fashion world in creative, innovative ways.