Or why we are the uncrowned kings of upcycling

At the beginning of the 2000s, fast fashion brands exploded in Hungary and proliferated like mushrooms… In response, smaller, unique Hungarian brands began to emerge, who already considered local production important.

Among them, Printa has started to produce an even more specific, environmentally conscious product - mainly from recycled materials, ie with upcycling technology.

What is upcycling?

The upcycling technique is not the same as the better known recycling method, despite the fact that according to their Hungarian counterpart, both are "recycling". While recycling is the recycling of waste into its material (eg through selective waste collection), upcycling also adds value - so it means creating an object with new meaning through the use of materials that are considered waste. These include a bag made of leather scraps, a dress made of used shirts, or an overalls made from jeans.

As for the relationship between Printa and the technology in question, we have been producing recycled leather bags since 2008 - the first bag designs were made for us by Anett Hajdú, and the leather jackets were obtained from different locations.

We've brought you a retrospective gallery of our collections from the last 10 years, including some pretty funny things ...

2011

We called this collection Upcycled collection - we were so glad we found the name of what we represent :)) so far we didn't know there was a word for what we were doing. In addition to the leather bags we are used to, we have redesigned the cotton T-shirts, shirts and jeans. It was a risky move, we didn’t know how people would react to it, but in the end we sold all the pieces. Recycled leather is back on its belts and accessories anyway.

2012

The first half of the year was made exciting by a collaboration - Nóra Sármán, a recent graduate, designed a mini collection for us from old lace and used white jeans. The collection was photographed by Réka Kóti.

We made cardigans and shirts and tunics from the cotton sweaters used in the Black Moon collection. During an exciting hunt, we found a larger amount of discarded performing clothes made of shiny stretch fabric - pieces of leggings were made from it. All this was supplemented by a raster, abstract screen print, which was applied to the already finished clothes.

2013

2014

The "Abstract geometry" summer collection was characterized by shirts made of shirts and geometric screen prints.A special piece is made of a vintage damask material, which has been supplemented with a temporary painting. We love this collection because, despite the different recycled materials - with painting and careful selection - we managed to create a uniform and harmonious atmosphere.

Recycled bedspreads and plaid shirts played a prominent role in our winter collection, but we also loved the poncho - which was made from recycled knitwear - and the bedspread dress, which was made from a repainted duvet cover in a zero waste style.

2015

The summer of 2015 was about recycling used shirts and patchwork, where remarkable maxi shirts were born.

At the 2015 winter collection, we really let our imagination run wild - we experimented with different materials, made jackets from military sleeping bags and windbreakers made from used paragliders.

2016

Summer 2016, pastel and ice cream colors, recycled shirts and jeans

The key pieces of the 2016 winter collection were leather clothes and tops made from recycled leather, made with the same patchwork method as our bags. However, they proved to be very maceric, so they only remained on an experimental level. The result, on the other hand, was spectacular, and the audience loved it too, and the finished pieces were quickly snatched up. What has been a great success, and we make it to this day, if we can find it, is our jacket made of military blankets. A blanket is used to make a jacket out of a blanket, and its material makes it very warm, as it's not good for soldiers to catch a cold.

2017

In addition to recycled shirts and jeans, we also began recycling textile waste from a binder, which was supplemented with custom screen printing. The white shirt pieces were individually screened into stripes, and fresh, optically eye-catching pieces were made from this patchwork-style striped game.

2018

Coveralls, caftan dress, geometric screen printing, hemp ribbons, wooden buttons, recycled shirts and a balloon jacket from sailcloth - on the catwalk at Marie Claire Fashion Days. Our 2018 collection highlighted the beauty of the details.

2019

A beautiful vintage yellow palm damask fabric set the mood for the collection, complemented by vintage linen and combined with wood buttons, recycled shirts and cotton waste on the Marie Claire Fashion Days catwalk.

2020

In addition to recycling, our 2020 collection also includes the use of new, organic raw materials and a zero waste tailoring solution. Of course, the men's shirts used in the collection can be found, but we were looking for new, creative ways to use them, so the four-necked T-shirt was born, which is always based on a plain organic cotton t-shirt and a quarter of a sewn-on quarter shirt. The surface of the large shopper bag is decorated with a structure made of waste.

In addition to recycled vintage linen and shirts, recycled knitwear appears in the winter collection

2021