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Words by Lucy Sethill, Pictures by Ferne Arfin

Halloween was made for upcycling, recycling and creative reworking of the contents of our wardrobes. From the three-year-old “ghost” toddling down the street in an old pillowcase with eye holes, to the “Happy Days” wannabe in Nan’s vintage 1950s poodle skirt, at one time or another we’ve all pulled together a Halloween look from the dark corners of a wardrobe – our own, our partner’s or a relative’s.

Following our best green instincts, energyrethinking headed to Brick Lane, that hotbed of recycling, upcycling and vintage fashion to see how the most stylish people we could find were planning to upcycle and recycle for Halloween.

Cristina

We stopped this Columbian beauty in her tracks, as soon as we spotted her trendy hat and flared white trousers. Cristina, 23, a dedicated fashion student who now lives in Islington, told us that she would make a black crow costume from the contents of her flat. Using her flatmate’s old collection of feathers, she is going to spray paint them black before sticking them all over a black cotton jumpsuit.  To make the all important wings, Cristina is going to get creative with some left over poster board she brought for an old art project. Then to complete the costume, Cristina will create the beak by using a piece of cardboard from a shoe box in her wardrobe and cut it in a big triangle shape before painting it orange.
 

Pierre Baptiste

Here at energyrethinking.org we love a bit of French, so we were chuffed to find gorgeous Monsieur Pierre Baptiste, 20, an intern at Guestlist Network Magazine, strolling down Brick Lane on his lunch break. It was no surprise that Pierre wants to dress up as a caricature of an old Frenchman on Halloween. He is going to stick bunches of grapes all over his clothes; stick half size wine bottles all around his belt and create a walking stick out of a few baguettes tied together. Finally, a beret will be covered with all different types of traditional French cheese wrappers. We are not sure if this crazy costume will work and it may be a bit smelly… but we love the upcycling creativity.
 

Rhys Brown

Russell Brand in Brick Lane…!? No, in fact it’s Rhys Brown, a 22-year-old hairdresser from Kent. With his amazing barnet, it was no surprise when Rhys told energyrethinking he was creating an Edward Scissorhands costume for Halloween.  So how is he going to do it? First he will put on a pair of skinny jet black jeans he bought on the high street last year and then put on his black creeper shoes that are in fact very in trendy at the moment. For a top, Rhys told us the long sleeve polo neck is essential because it is the most accurate representation of the actual costume in the movie, so he is going to rummage around his dad’s wardrobe to find one. To finish off the look he is going to sling three studded belts around his torso and then create the all important scissorhands out of winter gloves, corrugated plastic, silver paint and black electrical tape. We think Rhys will look the splitting image of  Johnny Depp’s famous character from the 1990 Tim Burton classic – watch out girls.
 

Sarah Brown

We couldn’t believe our eyes when we spotted Sarah Brown  from Scarborough. She was truly our up-cycling hero of the day. Sarah’s flowing trousers are made from an old Italian vintage dress and her younger brother’s denim dungarees. Even more impressive was her bum bag, made from an old leather skirt, her dad’s shirt an old fleece and a swatch of  a tent gazebo! This Halloween Sarah, 30, is making a dinosaur costume from existing materials in her flat. She’ll wear a green T-Shirt and green harem pants for the bulk of the outfit. Then, for the tail Sarah is going to cut one leg off of an old pair of tights and stuff the leg with crumpled newspaper to give it body and dimension. (She recommended old tights for making just about anything.) Finally to complete the look, she is going to cut out triangular shapes of cardboard and stick them on her t-shirt for the spikes.
 

Erin Tree

We scouted the stunning Erin Tree a little too late, she has already been found by leading modelling agency, Select. Never mind…we still got to chat to her about ethical fashion, the catwalk and mostly importantly what she is wearing for the glamorous Halloween parties she is attending in New York City. Erin,20, is making a snake costume by sticking her younger sister’s toy snakes onto a green latex catsuit, painting her face and arms green and then making a snake’s tongue out of red felt. For a splash of glam she is going to finish the look off with some glitter sprayed over her costume.  Party time!
 

Anita Rice

energrethinking.org visited the scenester hotspot of the East End – Pimps and Pinups. This ultra cool hairdresser located in the heart of Spitalfields Market was spilling over  with upcycling types. Anita Rice, 26, from New Zealand grabbed our attention with her 1950’s vintage glasses and vibrant back combed red hair. Anita had already made her Halloween costume because she is recycling it from last year… that’s what we like to hear. The white witch costume was made from a white lace body, a papier-mâché tiara and crumpled up newspaper sprayed white and stuck on an under wired skirt.  All she needs now is the Queen of Hearts and Alice herself to finish the look. Let’s hope Anita’s friends get inspired by the recent Tim Burton blockbuster.