Fast food brands have been partnering more and more with high fashion houses to bring fans unique designs. In a recent collab, McDonald’s has partnered with a Finnish fashion label called VAIN to release an upcycled collection.
The Helsinki-based brand is using McDonald’s employee uniforms as the base for the garments. From there, they transformed the uniform’s standard shirts and pants into billowing dresses, slouchy hoodies and tiny mini skirts.
“The clothes were designed in a search of new ways to use the worn-out workwear and to create new designs by using already existing materials,” said VAIN in a news release.
For the brand’s designer, the collaboration was a way to build a connection with a brand he grew up loving as a child. “Growing up in a very rural part of Finland, there weren’t really any dedicated spaces for us to hang out as teenagers. The local McDonald’s sort of fulfilled that function for us,” said Jimi Vain, VAIN’s creative director and designer.
He added: “Also, it was the closest we could get to global pop culture out there in the north. We spent many evenings, and made many memories, hanging around the local McDonald’s.”
The collection keeps to McDonald’s roots while also experimenting with its iconic imagery. The golden arch logo is transformed into a belt buckle and also makes its debut in gray and black.
Only Finnish McDonald’s employees will have a chance to own the unique garments. The 27 pieces from the VAIN collection will be available to McDonald’s employees in the country through an internal raffle.
Unfortunately, employees won’t actually be able to wear the altered uniforms to work.
Source: https://jimivain.com/blogs/articles/vain-upcycles-used-mcdonald-s-workwear-into-a-fashion-collection