FUUD FOR THOUGHT
Designer Louise Halswell focuses on upcycling sheets, curtains and sleeping bags for FUUD’s innovative range of unique products, writes Joe Bill
“You don’t know what that means! You want to wash your mouth out!”
Not always the response you expect when you launch a new product, but in 2010, when FUUD (@fuud.london) launched the FUUDhood – a detachable hood that could be worn as a hat or a scarf – they quickly realised that picking a name can be a dangerous game.
“They were selling so well we wanted to give it its own name,” says owner Louise Halswell. “We were in the pub and my mate said ‘Furry hood – fuud’. And I was like ‘Cool, we will just go with that!’ But we originally spelt it Füd, and we were getting loads of press at the time, but most press weren’t putting the umlaut in, so it was being called Fud.
“We were one of the first brands to launch on ASOS marketplace and we got loads of abuse back.
“So, we Googled it and Fud means ‘c*nt’ and is essentially Scottish slang for female genitals. That’s why we put the extra ‘u’ into it. The moral of the story is always Google it first!”
Chatting to us from her studio/store cupboard/sleeping-bag hub, Louise explained that it was a crossroads in her life that led her into the world of fashion.
“Yeah, when I was younger I either wanted to be a professional show jumper, or a fashion designer, ’cause they really go together…?
“But essentially I wasn’t good enough to get there and I broke my knee at my biggest-ever competition, so that felt kind of like fate.”
Studying textiles at college and then choosing a fine art degree at university, the designer set out to make an impact on the world of festival fashion.
“Because I was in Bristol, and Bristol is very fancy dress and festivally, I started making these really awful animal dresses. Like boob-tube animal dresses with a hood. I went to Bestival and everyone was like ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing’, so I did a couple of festivals and selling them in Bristol and it just grew from there.”
The FUUDhood fad went crazy, leading to fruitful opportunities at the Clothes Show at the Birmingham NEC, stockists in independent stores, growing online orders and the emergence of a huge rival brand in popular culture.
But, as with most fads, the shelf life proved short.
A move from Bristol to London and then on to Margate in 2019 coincided with a philosophical journey and a new direction for Louise.
“Next year I have got 100 bed sheets, going back to like 50s Snoopy, and I’ve got 75 ball gowns that I’m cutting up and creating tracksuits with”
“I got to the stage where I hated festivals so much because the scene just changed so quickly and everyone was copying each other,” she says. “What was really unique just became a blanket look. So I cut all ties with that and I was just in this no man’s land of not being a festival designer or anything else.”
FUUD began to focus heavily on streetwear and, in particular, its now-trademark panelled apparel and thus the organic, sustainable and zero-to-waste Reborn collection was created.
BLANK-ET CANVAS
There are two sides to the current FUUD collection. There are the tracksuits, which are created from new using 100% traceable organic cotton in the FUUD colour-panelled style with the same unisex cut. But the other end of the business is totally focused on recycling materials, upcycling and rescuing vintage textiles.
“When I started out at the beginning of FUUD I used to make onesies out of bedspreads, and a lot of the hoods were from vintage knitwear,” explains Louise. “But when you want to go online and be mainstream it’s much easier to go brand-new.
“But I had this whole eco awakening of knowing more about who makes your clothes, having that understanding and seeing the whole picture. When I got to Margate, I knew a guy down here who had a massive vintage wholesale business. So, I started collecting more vintage.”
As pictured, the FUUD range currently includes the ultra-funky, statement boiler suits handmade from upcycled 80s deadstock furnishing cotton; honeycomb blanket loungewear made from upcycled vintage blankets; and made-to-order SwimFuud pullovers, made from upcycled 80s sleeping bags and lined with fluffy towelling, which suits both the statement fashion and wild swimming market – which Louise loves to do herself.
“Next year I have got 100 bed sheets, going back to like 50s Snoopy, and I’ve got 75 ball gowns that I’m cutting up and creating tracksuits with,” says Louise. “Reworking actual clothes has kind of been done. Everyone’s cut a jacket apart or put a different sleeve on something, and it’s a pain in the arse to do. So, really, I’m always looking for blankets or curtains, or huge dresses… something I can use as a blank canvas essentially.”
Like many independents, Louise has had her own creations ripped off by online retailers as fast fashion continues to undermine the industry and its designs with the use of cheap material.
“Fast fashion is a huge problem,” she says. “It’s growing exponentially. I’d almost give the high-street chains a break right now – they are more visible and more accountable – but the rise in these online ones, and what they do, is disgusting.”
And this has made Louise even more resolute in her quest to be as environmentally friendly as possible, with all material scraps being either gathered and sent to a designer making
patchwork bucket hats or vacuum-packed with a view to another project.
Louise adds: “Now I’m just looking at any second-hand material and thinking ‘Oh, what can I do with it?’.”
INFO: fuudlondon.com
