In the world of luxury, unused rolls of fabric number in the thousands. This waste is tending to disappear thanks to the big houses which are starting to circulate them. And to young brands, to promote them. This is the case of Venitz and its creator Morgane Catteau, former assistant at Chanel. This process has a double interest: economical and ecological.
In Venitz 's workshop, kilometers of unused fabric, scraps and samples pile up. In his garage, it's worse. At least twenty boxes are patiently waiting to pass through the magical fingers of Morgane Catteau. Linen, velvet, cotton, lace, satin, silk, organza, denim, woolens, plain, patterned, their style is heterogeneous but not their origin.
A defect, an out-of-fashion style, fewer orders...
These quality fabrics are part of 'dormant stocks', that is to say products that do not rotate. Their owners? Fabric manufacturers, ready-to-wear or haute couture brands. But also factories and clothing workshops.
The causes of this dormancy are multiple. The number of orders is lower than expected. Color is no longer fashionable. Or the fabric is defective – stain, stitch, weight. This was the case for a historic Vosges weaver who found himself with nearly two kilometers of organic cotton denim fabric on his hands.
The eco-responsible fashion media The Good Goods reports that the fabric had a weaving defect every seven meters, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. But which had led the brand, at the origin of the order, to give up on it. Ecclo , which upcycles unused fabrics, discovered the stock in 2020 and transformed it into jeans.