As an initiative of sustainable luxury, Elvis & Kresse redefines luxury with its innovative methods and stimulating bags. We talked with Kresse Wesling, co-founder of the brand.

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It is not, and it will never be the easiest for the masses to embrace a shift in their long-known concepts. For many years, luxury has been defined under various terms but it is relatively a newcomer in the fashion industry to define luxury through sustainable practices. There, Elvis & Kresse emerges as an initiative: The Kent-based brand produces beautifully designed bags by using innovative materials such as fire-hose. They simultaneously support social justice projects, and prove that it is not only easy but the best way to be chic in sustainable terms.

Kresse Wesling is the co-founder of Elvis & Kresse. She studied politics and East Asian Studies at McGill University before she founded Elvis & Kresse with her partner. Wesling worked with the Burberry Foundation, and she was awarded by the Cartier’s Women’s Initiative Awards. TRAUMODE had a conversation with this inspiring entrepreneur of Elvis & Kresse, and the global journey of sustainable fashion.

T: First of all, thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. For us, Elvis & Kresse is an enormously important brand in showing how sustainability and luxury can indeed exist together. I want to know how you came up with the idea of founding the brand. Basically, what is the story behind Elvis & Kresse?

KW: I fell in love with Duraline hoses the moment I saw them in 2005, piled up on a rooftop at a fire station in Croydon, awaiting an imminent and undignified death in landfill. 

Fire hoses are decommissioned for one of two reasons, they either reach the 25-year end of their health and safety life or they are too damaged to repair. They either miraculously survive 25 years of active service, or they die trying. 

We weren’t entrepreneurs in search of an idea, we didn’t set out to make luxury accessories. We simply wanted to save the hose. We couldn’t let these lustrous, durable, life-saving coils of deep red nitrile rubber go. 

We started with a simple range of belts and slowly grew from there. Since 2005 we have rescued all of London’s decommissioned hoses and donated 50% of the profits to the Fire Fighters Charity. These hoses are still working hard, long after their first life. Imagine that, hoses that were supposed to die in landfill are helping injured firefighters.

T: As mentioned, Elvis & Kresse is living proof that luxury can be sustainable. While many doubt it due to concerns around quality, how would you define your formula to maintain sustainability in high-quality fashion production?

KW: Our DNA is key. Our materials are rescued, and 50% of our profits are donated to charity. This means that as we grow, so does the amount we can rescue and donate. The goodness is built in.

T: We know that social justice projects take a very important place at Elvis & Kresse, and you donate half of the profits to the charities. How do you determine the charities you donate to, and how did social justice become a part of your brand? Many think that luxury equals to exclusivity, therefore a luxury brand directly supporting these projects would be contradictory. Can you tell us how exclusivity, luxury and social justice can exist together according to the vision of Elvis & Kresse?

KW: We always want the charity partner to resonate with the material we collect. In the case of the rescued decommissioned fire-hose The Fire Fighters Charity is the perfect partner. Every charity becomes a stakeholder, and we work very closely with them, always planning for the long term. Actually, our items are the ultimate in exclusivity! Every single item is unique, using rescued materials means that no two pieces (even if made to the same pattern) are ever the same. Our vision is more about the future of luxury and consumer goods. We want to lead the charge in buying less, buying sustainably, buying with the long-term responsibility to repair, buying from uncomplicated supply chains where everyone is paid a living wage… essentially, we want the industry to change and the best way to do that is to work in a better way, to show that better is possible. 

T: As a UK-based brand, how does the location of Elvis & Kresse affect the way its interpretation of fashion and sustainability?

KW: We are based on a farm, in Kent. Our company also manages the farm, running it entirely regeneratively. So yes, our location has a dramatic impact on us… being in nature and bringing an eco-system back to health is a huge inspiration for us. 

T: Unfortunately, we observe many brands that engage in greenwashing without any official certification process. However, Elvis & Kresse embraces various sustainability certifications that we celebrate. At which level do you think these certifications are important, and what do they mean for your brand?

KW: 3rd party independent certifications are very important, but so is transparency. Anyone can visit us, anytime, and see precisely what we do. We also do open book accounting with our charity partners…. trust is so important to us, which is why all of this, just like using rescued materials, is embedded in what we do.

T: I observe that Elvis & Kresse prefers using vegan materials for their bags. While we are supporting this choice due to many reasons around sustainability, a usual concern for purchasers exists by claiming that vegan leather (especially the ones made of fossil fuel-derived materials) can be less sustainable than the real ones. However, Elvis & Kresse uses fire hoses! How did you come up with this innovative idea and can you explain its benefits on longevity, circularity, and high quality?

KW: Fire-hose is vegan, but the leather we rescue is not. We design our products to ensure that the 2nd life of our materials is as long as possible – so we design according to the existing properties of the fire-hose or scrap leather or printing blanket or tea sack… 

T: Which bag from Elvis & Kresse would you recommend to a newcomer? Can you give some details about that product?

KW: The classic red fire-hose tote…. I have been using mine for a decade! 

T: You ship your bags to many areas. Can you explain the precautions you are taking when it comes to sustainable shipping?

KW: Shipping is tough – we are constantly researching which might be the best partner. Some are better at carbon management, some are better at living wages…. we really hope that there will be significant improvement in this space. In the meantime we continue to shop around.

T: Sadly, many countries lack a variety of fully sustainable fashion brands, and Turkey is one of them. What would be your advice to the upcoming or already existing fashion designers and companies in such countries for their path of going sustainable?

KW: It is a long journey – but essentially you have to design your business with the utmost care and concern for people and planet.

T: Do you have any upcoming projects that you would like to share with us?

KW: Yes – we are finalizing our solar forge project and hope to introduce goods made from rescued littered aluminum cans.

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