“Trashion = Trash + Fashion”

Luca Leonardi & Patricio Abreu are two young industrial designers behind the ecodesign studio Vaho Works. Their work is based in the re-use of materials creating delightful products that include fashion accessories and furniture. In barely five years time they twisted Barcelona’s product design scene with their approach; “Trashion, the perfect combination between trash and fashion”. Onsustain met them for lunch next to their studio and shared some thoughts.

The legend says that one day two youngsters climbed to the top of a Barcelona streetlight and cut a billboard. After, their realized the potential of the material due to its properties. How did all start?

P- As soon as we finished from university we decided to start participating in design contests with a group of eight people. The first contest we submitted some works was the Moda FAD (Fashion FAD). Just one of the components of the group had experience in fashion, the rest were industrial designers, interior designers, and graphic designers, so we decided to develop a line of accessories, which some were made of billboard. Short after, a salesman came to us asking for small collection of bags.

L- We paid attention to the billboard because we loved its graphics, in fact when we decide to get one by climbing a streetlight we aimed to hang it in our studio as a poster. But once we had the material in our hands we realized that it was very resistant, it seems leather and it is possible to work it by sewing. In addition, we realized that the graphics about the city were an element with great potential.

Vaho recently opened its first shop in Barcelona under the name Vaho Gallery, what can we find in this space?

P- The idea of the gallery is to use the space both as a shop and ecodesign gallery. For us, the space is offering great advantage versus the previous situation, now there’s no need to produce an entire line and place it in the market to realize what the reaction of the public is. We can produce prototypes and test them at the gallery.

L- We start by displaying our own products, but the idea is to include the work from other designers that follow our philosophy. One of the new lines shown at the gallery is the furniture collection made of oil barrels and supermarket trolleys.

Lately Vaho is enlarging its collection with pieces of furniture, t-shirts, and accessories. How do you approach these new developments?

L- As industrial designers, working with furniture is not a new process to us. However, we have been focusing in fashion until now. The design process of bags is a fast one; there is no need to produce moulds or wait months before seeing the final product, if we you have an idea you just take the sewing machine and produce it. We ended up in this field due to casualty, but now we started designing furniture like the trolley-chair. Moreover, Vaho is not just a brand of bags, we like to work with other materials and continuously think in new applications and expansion.

P- Some of the new products are concepts that we had in mind for long time. We like to experiment with new materials like for example awning which is an excellent material to we make handbags. On the lasts ten years the material of which awning was traditionally made has been renewed, from cotton to synthetic material. We use this discarded material to design handbags which serigraphy can be applied.

Vaho’s philosophy is “trashion”. What does it mean?

L- We were looking for a concept that defines our work; the transformation of materials that in principle lack any kind of value, into fashion products. “Trashion” is the perfect combination between “trash” and “fashion”, and our aim is to demonstrate that the concept really works.

You are known for your collections of bags, what is the current process you follow?

P- The institution that decides to produce a marketing campaign using PVS billboards is its owner once it is taken down from the streetlight. Therefore the first thing we do is to get collaboration agreements with such institutions in order to get the material. Then we visit the warehouses were the material is stored and select the pattern, then it is cut, cleaned, we select the side we want to show and then it is sewed.

Cleaning and other tasks of the production involve the work of disabled people from the organization CEO and prisoners. What made you take the decision to work with them?

L- The billboard has almost no value before it is cleaned, and at the begging that was a process we used to do in our own. So, we were looking for alternatives when we realized that the people from CEO could be involved in the process. To meet them was a turning point for us; they clean and fill the bags.

P- The people from the workshops at the prison learn how to use a sewing machine in a couple of days, so they produce some of the elements of our designs. We like the idea of involving this people in our products because they do a good job.

Currently, the value of used PVC billboards has increased in Barcelona. How it is this change reflected in the market?

L- The current situation it is just amazing, not even five years ago all billboards from Barcelona were incinerated or placed in the landfill. Today, not a single billboard is wasted and it is so valuable that even a black market of this material has been created.

How you perceive the Barcelona’s design scene?

P- Designers located in Barcelona produce a conceptual as well as playful work. What it is important is that a common vision is shared regarding un-usual ways of designing by means of un-common materials.

How is Vaho going to surprise us next?

L- Many things are going to happen at the Vaho Gallery; our next idea is to offer exclusive pieces. Therefore we are working with graphic artists in the decoration of our bags made of different materials. In the other hand, we are going to expand some collections like t-shirts, the awning collection and we are planning the opening of a second gallery.

What is the best recognition you could get?

P- I really like when I see pedestrians in the street wearing our designs
L- For me the best recognition is to realize that media talks positively about our work.