INTERVIEW #22 AMANDA BORNEKE

A person that has clearly created more debates and put a spotlight on sustainable development is Amanda Borneke. Within the sustainability network she’s a well known profile who dares to speak her truth and openly visualise her dreams. Amanda is a relief from the Swedish “Jante-lagen” and inspires people to be more bold and out speaking. She lives as she learns and enters her scenes with remake creations worth to envy. In this interview she tells us about her relationship with clothes and why labelling something as second handed is misleading.

Occupation: Climate Lobbyist in the Construction Industry and Founder of Hållbarprofil

What’s your relationship with clothes?

“Roger Andersson at the Concrete gala called me the “Lady Gaga of Sustainability”.”

My clothes are the perfect intersection between my passion for the construction industry and my love for sustainable textile production. The approach is that my clothes are conscious and strategic messages for my surroundings. In its own way, my clothes are just a communicative platform as my social media channels – a platform to inspire change. It’s mainly about creating curiosity for environmental alternatives. It gives me an agency and a technique to express myself. The wow-factor and uniqueness are guiding words for all my creations. I love creating dialogue and making a discussion. Often my clothes functions as a gate-way to create dialogue about sustainability and environmental behaviour.

How would you describe your style?

Roger Andersson at the Concrete gala called me the “Lady Gaga of Sustainability”. I was humble and overwhelmed by that compliment. My off-carpet looks I would describe as pre-loved, urban and unique.

Cotton Candy Dream – Recycle gala 2020 

This dress was designed by Wilhja and made from spill-over from Charlotte Perrelli’s dress trail in Swedish Eurovision (Melodifestivalen 2019). The handbag was made from plastic floors provided by Tarkett and designed by Think Today. The Stockings was made from 100% recycled nylon, bought from Swedish Stockings. Shoes was sharp red made from recycled PUL, bought from Green laces in Stockholm. 

Circular dress made from waste – Concrete Gala 2019 

Every part of the circular outfit represents different ways to reuse waste. I wanted to make a dress that represent my ambitions for the industry. The Headpiece is a steel net made for a L’Oreal catwalk in 2004, designed by hairdresser and stylist Annika Benedel at Bahlsam. Fristad AB (who usually produce carpenter trousers) designed the dress in one big pieces of fabric, minimal cutting and minimal sowing, which gave Fristads the possibility to deconstruct the dress and reconstruct it as work trousers. The balloon skirt has one seam in the back but that’s all, says Anastasios at Fristads AB. The black flower "vest" is made from production waste used for the kneepads at work trousers. Rented the shoes and again 100% recycled stockings from Swedish Stockings. 

How would you describe your closet?

There is not one single black thing in my closet. I never felt comfortable in darker colours. It does not match my warm, bubbly and energetic personality. You can expect my wardrobe to be as fireworks. It is all about colours. Mostly warm nuances and patterns. Creating an interesting look is all about catching the eye and challenge socials norms. I guess you would think it is messy at first, but there is a strategic order in all the chaos if you take a closer look.

What is a sustainable closet for you?

“ I don’t understand why we brand certain stuff as second hand and others as newly produced. It is like different objects has different social value for us. For example, you never buy and “old” apartment, you just buy an apartment or a “newly produced” apartment. ”

It is all in a word that Alexandra Davidsson coined for me – circulent. It’s a concept where all my clothes circulate rather than me owning them. I am a circulent, not a consumer. I don’t consume clothes in the same way, I don’t buy or own them. instead I borrow, lent, share, reuse and remake. In a way I feel like I hacked my closet and my mindset. Just the word “circlulent” made me understand exactly how I needed to change my behaviour to something more sustainable.

What do you think about the fashion industry?

Imagine an entire village where every single person was missing a limb or two. No one in the whole settlement had two arms or two legs. Why?

Because that the agitation of dyeing chemicals and fabrics is made by humans, and not machines. That’s the reality for many who works at a unsustainable textile production. I have never been so horrified in my life when I witnessed this during my bachelor thesis in India. I will carry that image with me forever. Every time I see a nice dress at a fast fashion store that’s all I think about. Is this dress worth an arm, or maybe a leg? No. It is never worth that.

What do you believe needs to change?

I made reflection the other day about how we talk about stuff and how that locks certain behaviours. I don’t understand why we brand certain stuff as second hand and others as newly produced. It is like different objects has different social value for us. For example, you never buy and “old” apartment, you just buy an apartment or a “newly produced” apartment. You never say that I bought a pre-loved apartment. Just the same with art, you don’t buy an old painting, then you call it antique. I realised that we actively brand reused clothes as something with less value, like second hand. I truly believe that it can be that simple, that changing one word can enable a new behaviour. That’s why I prefer to use the term “pre-loved” clothes and that we carry history, hand-craft and actual memories when we choose to reuse.  

What can one do that seeks to create a more sustainable closet?

I really get inspired by the fashion activist community called F/ACTivists in the F/ACT Movement. They inspired me to shop in my own closet, which has been incredibly fun. It works like this: everyday has a word which your outfit should find inspiration from. Here is your first shop-in-your-own-wardrobe-challenge. Please use #hallbarprofil and I will share your outfits.

Monday: Stripes

Tuesday: Nuance in nuance

Wednesday: Flowers

Thursday: Monochrome

Friday: Razzberry/Liquorice

Saturday: Lilac

Sunday: Sporty spice'

Website: www.amandaborneke.com

Instagram: hallbarprofil