Giving Our Fabrics a Second Life – Part One

At Anna Lascata, we’ve always been drawn to classic fabrics and tailored silhouettes. Our pieces aren’t driven by fleeting trends — they’re designed to last. Many of our jackets are worn for years, sometimes even passed down from mother to daughter. It sounds like the perfect sustainable story.

But is it really?

Each new season brings fresh ideas — and with them, new fabrics, linings, and patterns. Not every roll is used in full. A few metres here, a bolt there… and gradually, unused materials begin to stack up. Too beautiful to throw away, but quietly gathering dust.

Then, sometimes, the right person crosses your path.

At a fair, I ran into Liesel Swart. Liesel, a footwear designer, lecturer at a design college, and the creative force behind a new project turning surplus fabrics into handmade trainers, was looking for high-quality textiles. I had rolls of exactly that.

A match made in heaven.

What began as a conversation became a collaboration, transforming our classic fabrics into contemporary, limited-edition trainers. Materials once destined for tailored coats now step out into the world in an entirely new form.

Sustainability doesn’t always make headlines. Sometimes, it starts with a quiet idea, a shared sense of purpose, and the belief that great materials deserve more than a single life.