Upcycled Doelen Shopper door INVALID Atelier
Take it to the beach, the market, or the laundromat! This way, you always have the Doelen close to you
INVALID Atelier on Rijnhoutplein transforms old banners from the Doelen into fashionable shopping bags. Choose a banner and a design to your taste, and the bag will be handmade for you. Now available for purchase at the Doelen Shop!
The banners above the main entrance of concert hall De Doelen change regularly. Sometimes it announces a new season or spectacular concert, other times important festivals and conferences like IFFR and Immersive Tech Week. Occasionally, the cloth proclaims a powerful statement.
But what happens to the giant cloths when new festivals and programs are announced? So far, the cloths have been rolled up and sent to the basement, where they were forgotten by everyone. But that's recently changing. Telma Patricia Fonseca Monteiro is giving the cloths a new life in the form of the Doelen Shopper.
Upcycling
Telma Patricia is the go-to top dressmaker for all fashion-loving Rotterdam. She made a series of three models that you can customize yourself. Choose a model, your favorite cloth, and Telma Patricia will get to work on your sustainable design. Handmade for trips to the beach, school, or the market.
She explains: "What would have been thrown away, we're now giving new life to. Despite the design being the same, each bag looks different. This is because we use large pieces of fabric and manually cut out patterns, making each piece unique. So while you might have the same bag as others, yours will always have a unique color palette and pattern."
Over INVALID Atelier
INVALID Atelier was founded 11 years ago by Telma Patricia Fonseca Monteiro, known as Patty to many in Rotterdam. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and prior to that completed the Fashion and Technology vocational training at the MTS in The Hague. After ten years of experience in the fashion industry, including stints at Viktor & Rolf, Marlies Dekker, and couturier Frans Hoogendoorn, she decided to establish her own fashion house. Her studio specializes in designing and creating bespoke clothing with a high-end fashion sensibility, as well as offering high-quality sewing courses.