E.L.V. DENIM is a pioneering British luxury brand dedicated to crafting timeless pieces from 100% upcycled materials. We breathe a second life into garments destined for landfill, transforming waste into luxury.
Founded in 2018, it started with its signature contrast colour denim mid-seam jeans. Since then, we’ve expanded our offering to include shirts, dresses and accessories, as well as a cotton collection upcycled using luxury hotels textiles .
In a world of overconsumption, E.L.V. DENIM challenges convention and provides another way to enjoy fashion. Each piece is unique and has its own story. It begins with the fabric, which is sourced from preloved garments and fabrics, before being skilfully handcrafted into considered designs that last a lifetime.
Our Founder
Anna Foster is Founder and Creative Director of pioneering sustainable denim brand E.L.V. DENIM. Prior to founding the brand Anna had been a fashion editor for twenty years at publications such as Exit, and i-D Magazine. She then went on to be Fashion Director at Lula, and Fashion Director-at-Large at Australian style title fashion RUSSH before deciding to focus solely on the brand in 2022. Taking everything she had learnt across her styling career, plus the common sense of everyday sustainability, Anna began developing E.L.V. DENIM.
Admiring denim as a functional and long-lasting fabric, Anna didn’t understand why the denim industry was producing 4bn pairs of jeans a year from virgin fibres. She decided to rework existing jeans into new modern, sophisticated styles that can be tailored to fit every ‘body’
Born in East London
E.L.V. stands for East London Vintage, reflecting the fact that all our collections are designed and produced locally in the British capital.
Why? Because we're committed to reducing the transcontinental transportation typically involved in producing a pair of jeans. We also believe that skilled local manufacturers and craftspeople deserve to be paid fairly for their work.
Our East London atelier is the heart of the business, but we also collaborate with a network of local ateliers within a 5 mile radius that share our commitment to sustainability. From tailors and machinists to artists and designers, this creative community is like family to us.
Together, we believe we can help drive meaningful change within the fashion industry.
Our Ethos
E.L.V. DENIM was born from a desire to correct the fashion industry’s wrongs.
Our founder Anna Foster witnessed first-hand the large-scale overconsumption in the fashion industry through her role as a stylist. She realised that with considered upcycling and fabric-first curated sourcing, we can meet the global demand for design-led luxury fashion and be kinder to the environment. It’s a win-win. This is why every stage of our production process is environmentally and socially conscious, from sourcing and local production to selling.
In a world of overconsumption, we can make a difference.
We can champion slow fashion, craftsmanship and attention to detail. We can do better for the planet. There’s plenty of life left in garments destined for landfill, especially denim, a fabric that was created to be hard-wearing and long-lasting.
So let’s return to a society that truly values this important textile and the artistry that created it, taking it from loss to luxury. Let’s put a stop to the negative narrative around pollution. It’s time to explore inspired common sense solutions.
