‘Réta and Kati’s vision is a romantic and bold universe that responds to the outside world with playful creativity. Secondland is not only a clothing brand but also a brand of kindness and community, a brand that provides guidance on how to create a sustainable wardrobe by thinking outside the seasons. It’s like preserving the Earth’s volatile power through a layer of pink tulle.‘
Excerpt from an article published in Hype&Hyper, 21 07 2022
OUR STORY
Secondland is a fashion brand founded by women in Budapest, Hungary. The magical world of Secondland is created by two friends, based on a common vision and shared values. Started out as a love project in 2020 during the pandemic, Secondland has organically grown to become one of the most promising emerging upcycling fashion brands in the region. The brand’s creative director is fashion designer Kinga Réta Vecsei. Secondland’s romantic and playful style is inspired by her childhood memories and the connection she has with her inner child—the distinct flowers appearing in the brand’s image are also based on childhood drawings of hers.
Réta has always been fond of items with a history and finding ways to reuse them. Wearing vintage pieces and clothes passed down in her family became a part of her identity, therefore using preloved dresses and textiles as materials for her creations came naturally to her. The idea of founding an upcycling fashion brand occurred to her during a trip to Los Angeles: this is also from where Secondland’s name is coming from—the combination of the words secondhand and La La Land. Réta’s goal is to cherish her heritage, and extend the pieces’ lifecycle with a design approach and value-creating upcycling. No wonder the brand’s motto is upcycled treasure.
Katalin Lili Tasnádi is the managing director of Secondland. Since her University studies, the connection between sustainability and fashion has been the main focus of her professional life. After studying to be a textile designer, she graduated as an art and design manager. Creating value and making a difference is what drives her every day. Secondland’s bohemian and playful vibe is close to her heart as well: as a mother of two, she gets to experience the playfulness and creativity of children at home.
OUR VALUES
Secondland’s aim is to respond to overconsumption and wastefulness in a creative way and to make sustainability desirable with the help of a utopian dream world.
In the world of Secondland, every piece is made by upcycling. We are passionate about finding vintage treasures to prolong their lives by transformation and using them as raw materials. Each piece of vintage clothing, household textile and deadstock fabric is selected with care and a preference to fabrics made with natural fibers such as wool or cotton.
Secondland is also committed to seasonless thinking. Instead of dropping trend-based collections every season, we offer a carefully thought-out base collection with sophisticated details. We strive to design garments with exciting silhouettes and unique color palettes that have the potential to stay in our customers’ wardrobes as special statement pieces for a long time to come. Secondland pieces look great together, layered or incorporated into a capsule wardrobe.
Vintage garments are transformed to fit the signature silhouettes of the brand. Due to the nature of upcycling, the different pieces of a product type are created in unique color and material combinations or manufactured in small quantities. Every design variation has its own serial number. Adding handcrafted embellishments and incorporating gemstones are key parts of our designs. The labels on our clothes are promoting a sustainable approach and drawing attention to making conscious decisions and taking responsibility when it comes to how you spend your money.
Our products are made ethically in Hungary with locally sourced fabrics. Our partners are independent professional dry-cleaners, tailors and seamstresses who determine their own pay and working hours. The final touches of hand-sewn embellishments are added in our studio in Budapest.
OUR MISSION
Circularity is the key to our operation in which we want to achieve our vision of harmless creation. The principles of circularity guides us during the design and production processes as well as in the development and growth of our brand.
Education is also a mission of ours. We believe that raising awareness about conscious spending and responsible consumer habits can change the fashion industry for the better.
“Buy less, choose well, make it last.” Vivienne Westwood