Lost, Refound, and ReLoved at ReMode
When FTA established ReMode, we grounded it in education, support for circular businesses, hands-on learning, and community.
When we talk about the event, we often reduce it to its main components: a marketplace, a swap, and a series of talks. But at its core, ReMode is about something much more human: connection.
Connection to our clothes.
Connection to each other.
And connection to the stories that live within the things we wear.
The beauty of ReMode is that there are no new clothes in the marketplace. Every vendor works with materials that no longer hold purpose for someone else. At a time when fashion moves faster than ever, ReMode creates space to slow down - to see clothing not as disposable, but as something with true value. We often talk about fashion as being closely tied to identity, but that identity lives not only in design or materials. It lives in memory, meaning, and care.
One moment from this year’s event captured that essence perfectly.
A guest was browsing the marketplace when she came across a jacket that stopped her in her tracks.
This wasn’t just a jacket. It had been made from a quilt. And not just any quilt, her quilt. A wedding gift from her grandmother, that had been lovingly completed by her aunts as part of a family tradition. It was a piece she had once cherished, but had eventually decided to let go of after years in storage.
She had donated the quilt to her local Value Village. From there, it made its way into the hands of Stephanie, founder of Born Yesterday, who saw its potential for a second life and transformed the quilt into a jacket, And now, at ReMode, it was back in front of the very person it once belonged to.
When the vendor heard the story, she didn’t hesitate. She packed up the jacket and gifted it back to its original owner just in time for her 35th wedding anniversary!
What could have been just another transaction became something else entirely: a magical, full-circle moment of care, generosity, and reconnection.
That is ReMode.
It’s not just about reuse. It’s about rediscovery.
Not just about reducing waste, but about restoring meaning.
Because when we extend the life of clothing, we’re not just keeping materials in use. We’re keeping stories alive.
The quilt before it was upcycled
The finished coat