How this Brooklyn Brand Turns Fabric Scraps into Sustainable Styles

Rinat Brodach founder of her namesake label Rinat Brodach is an Israeli American fashion designer based in Brooklyn who is making waves as a genderfree designer. She has presented at New York fashion week and was most recently featured as the winner on Amazon’s Prime’s Making the Cut. The young and energetic designer rebranded to focus on gender free clothing in 2018 and has been creating innovative collections and gaining notoriety among fashion’s tastemakers ever since. Her latest collection, entitled between material and flesh, is also focused on sustainability. This season was all about materials for the designer.

She sourced hand dyed fabrics from Manhattan Bleach, a small company based in NYC that re-uses fabric scraps and custom dyes them with new prints and patterns. The SS23 collection is all about mixed media with exciting designs and patterns that combine to create unique pieces. Brodach’s spoke about her design philosophy saying that she always tries to incorporate part of her soul into the pieces. The label is focused on making clothes for all people regardless of gender or identity. The collection features outerwear, which Brodach has stated is her favorite thing to design. The designer is well known for her draping technique which shines through in the comfortable and stylish pieces in this collection. The pieces in the SS23 collection are also custom made after ordering so each piece is created with care. This means that even less fabric goes to waste since pieces are created for each customer at a time.

Manhattan Bleach upcycles fabric scraps from businesses around NYC and partners with organizations such as FABSCRAP to source the fabrics. This collection is a great example of how designers, textile designers, and businesses can all partner to create a new fashion ecosystem based on reuse and reducing waste. It will be interesting to see what’s next for this up and coming NYC talent.