Thrifted's Creative Spotlight - In Conversation with Lois Saunders 1XBLUE
Each month we are shining a light on a creative from the Thrifted community & profiling them for our creative spotlight series, this month we have the extremely cool & talented Lois Saunders with her clothing brand 1XBLUE.
1XBLUE is a start up clothing brand launched in February 2020 that focuses on recycling second-hand football scarfs into wearable garments, the focus being on recycling old football memorabilia gives the brand a nostalgic aesthetic which in turn creates garments that are stylish with a sporty theme and history.
We sat down for a conversation with Lois getting to know a little more about her & her brand.
Thrifted: Lois! Hello! Thanks for speaking with us today, let’s jump right in and start from the beginning, where/when did this all start?
Lois: So the first vest I ever made was on the 20th of January, this year! I randomly came across this football scarf in a charity shop in Chorlton, Manchester. The scarf was Manchester United themed with Nemanja Matics face on, originally I thought it would be sick to make a vest for myself out of it, but after it was made I posted to my Instagram story and had a flood of people requesting one.
Sorry but we've got to ask... what's your favourite football team?
Although I’m not the biggest fan of football I would say Arsenal!! I’ve found such cool Arsenal scarfs in the past, which have looked great as clothes.
Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from & where do/did you study?
I grew up in Canterbury, which is a small city in the South East of England. I started my fashion journey at UCA in Canterbury doing an extended diploma where I specialised in design, after this I started my degree in fashion design at Manchester School of Art where I have just graduated. A great uni would highly recommend it.
Davinya Cooper (@davvycooper) in a reworked Everton FC Scarf
Do you draw any inspiration from any other designers / Styles / Surroundings?
I find most of my inspiration in whatever I can source, usually in second hand shops or car boot sales so it does mean that most of my ideas are quite random.
I have always been a big on reconstruction, as I love the patchwork style it gives you. A designer that creates really cool reconstructed pieces that I always find inspiring is Nicole McLaughlin. (@nicolemclaughlin)
Each of your pieces are so unique! But if you had to pick out one of your favourites, which one would it be?
One of my favourite pieces was made from this Kaiserslautern FC football scarf, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this scarf; it had loads of different devils on. I loved it so much I designed my own scarf based on it.
Reworked FC Kaiserslautern Scarf by lois1xblue
Tell us some of your favourite brands right now
I love finding old Nike pieces; you usually find some cool bits in vintage shops. I love Misbhv, I have recently purchased a sportswear set from them, love the bright colours and shape!
Shop Men's Vintage Nike - https://www.thrifted.com/collections/vintage-mens-nike
Shop Women's Vintage Nike - https://www.thrifted.com/collections/vintage-womens-nike
We love the fact that you take something old & turn it into something new, sustainability is so important in the current fashion climate of throwaway fast fashion, where do you source your scarfs from?
I source all of my scarfs online, platforms such as Ebay and Depop are great, you can be really selective with what you find as there’s a big variety, also its really useful that you can define your search down by using key words etc.
What are your plans for the future?
My student house contract ends at the end of this month (June) so I’m planning on moving to London and just continuing to growing my small business. I want to continue releasing my own scarf design collections every month alongside the main collection of recycled football scarfs, I’m also going to experiment with different garments and start doing menswear! A few collaborations will be released soon also, so keep your eyes peeled.
Felicity Dunstan (@felicity_dunstan) in a reworked Arsenal FC & Liverpool FC football scarf combo - Shot by Elsie Matilda (@elsiematilda)
How do people get in contact with you?
If you want to get into contact with me for customs/collabs or any desired questions there is a link through my website: www.1xblue.com or send me a DM on Insta @lois1xblue.
And finally what's your favourite 90's cartoon?
The Simpsons for sure!
Lois Saunders (@lois_saunders) in a reworked Hello Kitty football scarf
https://www.1xblue.com/product-page/1xblue-scarf-vest
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Shop Men's Sportswear - https://www.thrifted.com/collections/vintage-retro-mens-sportswear
Shop Women's Sportswear - https://www.thrifted.com/collections/vintage-retro-womens-sportswear
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