What happens to promotional products emblazoned with some of the world's most famous logos when they've served their original purpose? They usually end up in the bin or recycled if they're made from eco-friendly material, but have you ever heard of them being upcycled? Nicole McLaughlin is a designer who likes to take classic branded items and turn them into unique custom wearables that are as eye-catching as they are bizarre.

Nicole McLaughlin is a designer that creates bizarre items out of recycled everyday objects such as paint rollers, running shoes and old sports jerseys. She takes these unwanted materials and repurposes them into something new, often with the intent to reveal interesting messages about consumption and sustainability. Her designs are eye-catching, thought provoking and experimental.

In her work she combines fashion design with sculpture and performance art to create memorable works which have been featured in publications like VICE Magazine and The Cut Magazine. Nicole strives to make sustainable fashion accessible through her creations while also raising environmental consciousness among her audience.

By creating unique pieces using upcycled materials she hopes to challenge people’s thinking around how our existing resources can be used more creatively and responsibly instead of being thrown away or being replaced by unsustainable styles manufactured using hazardous chemicals and processes.

Customised Promotional Attire

McLaughlin has a keen eye for branded promotional products like promotional backpacks, which she then cuts up and upcycles into her own unique footwear and clothing. By taking the branded products out of their original context, McLaughlin gives them a whole new lease on life, transforming them into a variety of weird and wonderful new items.

Although the designer tends to favour making shoes from non-shoe material (such as promotional beach balls and soccer balls) and pants from other clothing (such as vests or beanies), she also creates quirky skirts and vests as well from items as obscure as backpacks and travel toiletry cases.

Our office favourite might just be the umbrella above made from The North Face puffer jackets. Probably not the umbrella material or style we're used to, but what a creative idea! So don't box yourself into preconceived ideas about what promotional products are meant to be, take a leaf from this one young designer's book and start considering new ways to interpret the old.

Designs first spotted here: https://www.instagram.com/nicolemclaughlin/