Signs Of Wear w/ Mario

Think less ‘worn out’, and more ‘worn in’. Built to be worn outside, inside, or inside out. Your call. Reused, repurposed, and ready for wherever you wear it. It’s something new from what someone once knew really well. When you know things? Well, you know they’re not done just because you’re done with them. When you see signs of wear, sow their seeds and wear them until they’re ready to be sewn again.

Due east of the Finger Lakes National Forest along the southwestern section of Cayuga Lake, designer Mario Rocchio sits crouched over his workbench; contemplating, sketching, and taking note of which sections of material and hardware are ripe for the harvest. Strewn about his home studio in Trumansburg are some 30-40 severely worn and past functional hardshells, destined to take the form of reworked goods ranging from hats to side bags. From the typical perspective, there is no hope for many of these pieces. It’s a pile of Gore-Tex-clad carnage, nothing more than conversation starters about how epic, how heavy, and well done for messing up a shell that bad. Mario, however, is only noticing the potential. The cross-cut sections of high-end craftsmanship, still deserving to be showcased and used. Self described as “somewhere between a designer and a maker….and a shaker”, the more elements he noticed in a jacket the more excited he got. “I know some of what goes into making these and I hope to highlight the quality of the work that was done before.” One stitch, leading to another, leading to a color block, zipper, pocket, or cord. He was following a treasure map, collecting clues at the cuff closures and drawstrings, eventually leading to a nugget of gold. “Normally the life span of something like a hardshell is the time in which a jacket is used for its intended purpose,” he notes, “but beyond that, a jacket can still be useful. It can still turn over its materials and components for uses other than its initial, intended purpose.” It’s that approach to clothing and goods that landed said box of 'worn-out' gear on Mario’s table, ready to be marked, cut, and sewn back together again. Adjusting his seat he continues, “On a larger level, it’s the idea of circularity. Taking a product's life-cycle and bending it and augmenting so it's less linear.” He states, “less from raw material, to use, to landfill but turning it back in on itself. Having the ‘end’ of a jacket's life-cycle be the beginning of something new….in a very real way to emphasize the ‘cycle’ part of the whole thing.”

Where there are people, there are textiles. We have crafted and utilized them for about as long as humans have been doing our thing. It’s not a new observation, it’s not a new concept; it’s a part of what we do and how we live. Whether for protection, expression, or story, we are surrounded by it on a daily basis and our interactions with these crafted goods act as an extension of ourselves and of the environments around us. The nature of our world is to move in a circular motion. Simply put, like the life-cycle of a plant. The seed grows into a plant, that plant dies, and what it once sustained itself on goes back to sustain what helped it grow. We can see that process present all around us, that things are still valuable even when they change form. Maybe it isn’t that different with our garments. Maybe the life of our clothing is more significant or more versatile than we initially saw.

The idea of extending the life and application of our clothing has become more and more prevalent. Much to the credit of the makers, sewers, crafters, and textile workers who have carried on their traditions and foraged fresh ones of their own. Mario’s work, in tandem with the initial makers/designers, stands in opposition to the familiar push for more and more; purchase, wear, discard, repeat. Although that message is prevalent, it’s not the whole story. In reality, your jacket can later be your hat and your hood can later be your sling bag; ready to continue on as something new from something you once knew. As Mario said, “There is so much more life in these materials and functionalities. I want to celebrate the craftspeople and makers who see that.” The relationship between people and material isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and goes to show the importance of how these storied objects are created and offered to the people. We desire to offer a wider perspective and set of services to our community in defining what ‘new’ can mean. We feel that signs of wear should be a source of pride and excitement for what's to come. Part of a circular motion. An opportunity to continue on, something new from something you once knew.

For these reasons, we would like to introduce the S.O.W Program. A program engineered to keep well-designed products out of landfills. In an effort to encourage circularity in a product's life-cycle, we reclaim gear that has fallen into disuse, breathing new life into it and continuing on. This revitalization extends its usefulness well beyond its original adventure or owner. A program that echoes the natural world by allowing products to experience regrowth within the same ecosystem. S.O.W. Program participants are welcome to trade in used gear in exchange for store credit. Here, every item finds a new purpose: some are transformed into innovative products, others are expertly repaired, and some are simply passed on to new adventurers eager to embark on their own journeys. It's not just a trade; it's a cycle of renewal and opportunity, where gear continues its legacy in fresh, exciting ways. Currently available at Neon Wave Flagship and expanding to our other locations soon.