Many fashion labels identify with a certain style or demographic, whether it’s street wear or formal wear, minimalism or maximalism. However, Canberra label SZN goes one step further, and identifies with an idiology – sustainable fashion design. For this reason it has been somewhat of a style chameleon from collection to collection. What brings each collection together under the cohesive SZN brand, however, is designer, Suzan Dlouhy’s ongoing pursuit of simplification in pattern-making and the transformation of waste fabrics into commercially desirable products. The result is always something completely novel.

This year, SZN’s collection for FASHFEST 2014 was based on a simple but brilliant idea: the deconstruction and reconstruction of discarded denim clothing. Denim jeans, jackets and skirts were sourced in bulk from local charity shop donations, unpicked into their respective components and then pieced back together, like a veritable jigsaw puzzle, into new fabrics. The task is clearly not as easy as it would seem. With denim of various different thicknesses and grains, the seam work, Suzan explained, had to be precise to achieve a seamlessly flat fabric. The illusion was so complete that it took me quite a few good oggles to determine that one striped T shirt was made of horizontally patched denim. It was constructed so flawlessly that it could easily have been a print.

To eliminate additional waste fabrics resulting from the design, Suzan has simplified her patterns to such an extent that each skirt, jacket or shirt consists of, in most cases, only one cut of fabric.

It is somewhat unfortunate that the simple elegance of Suzan’s technique is not immediately apparent in the final product. On the other hand, for us consumers, all we are likely to see in SZN’s 2014 collection is well made clothing that simply hits the spot – flared denim tank tops, skater skirts, slouchy hooded jackets. It’s simple and chic, and what people want to wear right now. What topped it all off was the deliberate incorporation of the imperfections of the used denim, including all the natural distressing and discolouration that resulted from actual wear. The result was a collection that exuded youthfulness and nonchalant cool.

Find out more about SZN on its website, Facebook, and Twitter!