PROTOtypes

Revive the Dead (Clothes).

Here come the ones who just might save fashion (and the planet) from its own excess. Meet PROTOtypes.

           

Who are they?

Rewind to 2021. Zurich, Switzerland. Designers Laura Beham and Callum Pidgeon meet during their stints at VETEMENTS, back in the glory days when Demna was still steering that ship. Fast-forward a little, and they’ve launched their own label: PROTOtypes. It makes sense, their work still carries the same kind of energy. It’s scrappy, smart, and slightly unhinged (in the best way), with just a bit of VETEMENTS nostalgia woven through.

             

Laura Beham and Callum Pidgeon ⓒgatamagazine.com

               

Start googling them and things get…weirdly fascinating. The more you read, the more you start wondering if they’re even from Earth? Their path doesn’t resemble anything we’ve seen in fashion before. They don’t move like a brand, they move like a mission. Like maybe they beamed down here with one job: to revive our dead wardrobes and shake fashion out of its bloated slumber.

             

ⓒproto-types.ch

                

Mission Received: Revive the Dead Clothes

So let’s play along and imagine them landing on Earth, secret orders in hand: "Bring dead clothes back to life." Not with more factories or fast fashion, but by upcycling. Recycling. Repurposing what already exists. What does that do? Hear it from the source, courtesy of a 2024 interview with 032c Magazine:

        

For us the question is: Can we value what we are already have and turn it into something fun and potentially original? The possibilities are not endless but there are plenty.

       

It isn’t laziness or lack of creativity. It’s a type of homage. PROTOtypes treats borrowing like a kind of fashion philosophy, a deep bow to what came before.

           

ⓒproto-types.ch

             

They even mentioned Duchamp’s whole Readymade thing. You know that infamous 1917 urinal art piece, “Fountain”? It’s the same idea. Take something totally normal and mundane and throw it under a new light.

PROTOtypes does that with fashion’s leftovers: deadstock, discarded pieces, forgotten garments. Not entirely new maybe, but still undeniably different. It feels like the entire brand starts from that belief. Making an entirely new thing might not always be the goal. Sometimes it’s more about finding new ways to see what we already have. 

           

ⓒproto-types.ch

               

Step 1: Snap Out of It, This Is the Fashion Industry    

If you want to change the game, you have to understand the field. And right now, it’s a mess. Everyone’s an art director. New brands are popping up faster than you can blink. Upcycling is trendy, sure, but it also often comes with prices that make our eyes water. Meanwhile, landfills are quietly turning into textile graveyards, stuffed with unsold clothes no one wants to talk about.

             

ⓒproto-types.ch

            

You won’t catch PROTOtypes being part of that cycle. Instead of churning out more “stuff,” they stick to their own rules. Most of their pieces are made from deadstock or secondhand clothing. Every design starts with a sharp idea, not a sales strategy. They’re not here to drown us in more product. They’re here to make fashion with intention. With meaning, and maybe some actual soul.

        

Step 2: Stop Judging Fabric Like You’re Just Swiping Right and Left

New materials are easy. They’re clean. Predictable. Unlimited. But where’s the fun in that? PROTOtypes has taken the more chaotic route, and is thriving in it. They don’t care if something used to be pants. It could come back as a dress. Or a jacket. Or a weirdly perfect bag. A necktie doesn’t have to stay in boardrooms. It can be transformed into a full outfit. Literally, they’ve done that. Whole fits made entirely of ties. It’s like fabric reincarnation, but with way better style. 

              

ⓒproto-types.ch, ⓒgatamagazine.com

            

Step 3: Raid the Work Closet

Uniforms are everywhere. On the street, at the stadium, in every job and service we rely on. They're stitched into our daily lives, even if we never think about them. Actually, that is exactly what makes them gold to PROTOtypes.

             

Series 5 ⓒpairsproject.com

          

Uniforms aren’t trend-chasers. They’re just built to work. To last. And they’ve got this lowkey emotional(?) pull. Like football kits, which happen to be Callum’s personal favorite. He grew up in England, soaked in their almost-diehard football culture. Stadiums, team spirit, screaming fans. It might be in his blood. So when PROTOtypes cuts up a vintage jersey and builds something new, it’s more than design. It’s memory. It’s community. It makes you feel something.

           

Series 6 ⓒproto-types.ch

              

Step 4: Preserve the Energy

Even when deconstructing a piece, PROTOtypes never fully erases what it used to be. You can still feel the original garment, see its DNA. They don’t rip things apart for drama. They edit carefully, with purpose. You know how some clothes feel like they’ve got a story baked into the seams? (You don’t? Check this out.) The energy of the original doesn’t disappear, it evolves and makes their work more honest, more grounded. You don’t have to guess where the pieces came from. You can tell.

              

ⓒ032c.com

         

Step 5: DIY or Die

Ever wish someone would hand you a DIY fashion starter pack, complete with instructions and patterns and zero judgment? PROTOtypes heard you.

              

ⓒln-cc.com

           

Their Proto Packs are basically fashion flat-packs for curious minds. It’s IKEA, but fashion and less stressful. Each pack comes with detailed guides and sewing patterns that help you turn whatever you’ve got in your closet into something completely new, a wearable piece of art.

         

You don’t need to be a pro. You don’t need fancy gear. You do need a little curiosity and a couple hours. Follow the manual, cut and stitch like it’s arts and crafts day for adults, and boom you’ve made a piece that’s all yours. The coolest part is that the final result always depends on your materials. Same pack, totally different outcomes. Personal, experimental, PROTOtypes. This isn’t about owning a look. It’s about learning a language. They’re not gatekeeping fashion, they’re actually doing the opposite and handing you the keys.

         

Same pack different results ⓒproto-types.ch

           

Real Talk: Seven Series In

PROTOtypes has already served up seven collections, with each one going deeper than the last.

            

Series 1~6 ⓒproto-types.ch

            

Their seventh series shown at Paris Fashion Week was their biggest runway moment yet. As usual, football was the backbone. Less about the sport itself, and more about what it represents. Unity, shared passion, and the electric feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself. Balaclavas and masks subtly nodding to the tension between being seen and staying hidden. We want to belong. We also want to disappear. PROTOtypes gets that, and they design for both.

           

Series 7 ⓒproto-types.ch

         

So… can you resist?

PROTOtypes takes what we throw away, listens to it, breathes life back in, and sends it back into the world as something smarter, weirder, sharper. They don’t follow trends. They follow instincts. They ask better questions. They leave space for you.

And in the process, they’ve made dead clothes feel more alive than ever.