“LoamaoL”: a palindrome inspired by a first and last name, those of Laura Amerand, an adopted Strasbourg resident of – soon – 30 years old, keen on sewing and upcycling. At the helm of an Instagram account followed by nearly 11,000 people, the young woman with nimble fingers shares creations in accordance with her convictions, making something new with something old. As in sewing, we took stock… with her.
So who's the boss?
As a lawyer by day, her bosses, Laura also finds them at home in the evenings and on weekends . And for good reason: she is fond of couture. A passion she inherited from her mother who, when she was younger, used to hem her pants with a sewing machine… Until she ended up doing it herself, in 2017, and, from One thing leading to another, she gets caught up in the game. She then starts watching tutorial after tutorial to gain some ground. And it is to follow Instagram accounts dedicated to couture that she created her own: LoamaoL.
From a photo in a magazine, to a model from a ready-to-wear collection, to someone stylish encountered on the Internet or in the street... The inspirations for his creations are numerous. She does not hesitate to take pictures of the looks of onlookers. Before going behind the machine and transplanting new pieces for his dressing room with a few clever tricks. And everything goes there: blouses, dresses, even unique and colorful coats, and other oilskins to make the whole neighborhood jealous.
With old curtains, an outdated dress, a lot of inventiveness, it delivers new products every week and contributes to supporting a growing community of DIY enthusiasts and responsible consumers. Mainly women when she looks at the stats of her Instagram account (98%), mostly aged between 25 and 44 years old. A “huge” and benevolent community, not dominated by money and still spared by sponsos, where she met “lots of girlfriends who are [her] friends today” and with whom she exchanges a lot.
She adds that she has won many new subscribers over the past two years, with some of her creations having "buzzed", like her reinterpretation of a skirt from a collection of Sézane. Sold for €90 by the brand, it gets away with it for €10 with its own, by hijacking an old skirt picked up second-hand, and buttons from Emmaüs. Well done.
Upcycling: how to make new out of old
If it is more and more trendy to buy second-hand, nothing recent, however, for her second-hand taste: antiquing for vintage clothes, it was in high school that she began to get into it; and the first garment she sewed was already a dress turned into a skirt. At the time “more by creative challenge”, she does it today by conviction. She explains that at the beginning, by moving away from fast-fashion by creating her own clothes, "you have the impression of changing the world", except that it is easy to go back to your faults by buying fabric made in China and in traditional haberdasheries. This is why it has now set itself the objective of only going through 100% upcycled, by supplying itself second-hand, and mostly local.
His “best advice”? “Look for curtains and sheets and not fabric coupons. It allows you to find some great vintage nuggets, which people often want to get rid of because it takes up space, and it's big coupons to make pretty pieces! ".
Laura finds her own nuggets in the unmissable Emmaüs, Le Bon Coin, Facebook Marketplace and the Strasbourg thrift store Le Léopard. But she also browses on the Geev sharing site and on Sharing is Caring (a Facebook group for mutual aid and donations in Strasbourg which brings together more than 20,000 members). She sometimes also looks at Vinted and national Bon Coin ads, but specifies that she is starting to reduce her purchases on the internet as much as possible to avoid transport, which turns out to be polluting.
She adds that by choosing to revalorize outdated fabrics and clothes, in addition to the economic and ecological aspects, she also sees in it the means of creating pieces "really unique that you can't find elsewhere.
If she already sells a few small creations on her Etsy shop, she has other projects in her pockets. For 2022, she evokes the creation and sale of pieces whose funds will go to local associations; and in the medium/long term, start selling large upcycled parts... So if this piques your curiosity, don't lose track and follow it on the networks!
Her Instagram
Her Etsy shop
Jess_Meany
Mellisuga.Couture
Madebyvalentine
Charlotte.danvers
