Marine Serre, queen of recycled fashion

Beyoncé, Aya Nakamura, Mylène Farmer, Marine Serre dress the stars. In March 2025, his fashion week show will be one of the events again. The seamstress from Corrèze has become in just a few years one of the most popular stylists on the fashion planet. Its niche, imagined since adolescence: upcycling. An ecological approach to recycling and giving a second, more luxurious life to clothes. She received us in her Parisian workshops.

June 2024, in Italy, in Florence, one of the world capitals of clothing. Marine Serre is the guest of honor at Pitti Uomo, men's fashion week. A consecration with a men’s/women’s parade which, once again, leaves a lasting impression. At 33, the young stylist confirms with her creations that she has become a reference.

A dazzling success for this little strand of woman, originally from Sainte-Féréole, in Corrèze, and who from the age of fifteen, in Creuse, at the Raymond Loewy high school of applied arts, already had “the clothes in her skin.”

“At the time, I was an intern at La Souterraine. When I had free time, I went to the thrift store opposite the station. There were lots of vintage clothes. I went hunting, rummaging. I made myself incredible outfits and with a friend, we paraded in the schoolyard.” she explains to us.

This passion for fashion, for China, came to her when she was very young when, in Corrèze, she accompanied her grandfather to flea markets and village garage sales. “He collected lots of objects. He sorted them, he cleaned them.” Almost upcycling before its time!

After La Souterraine, she headed to Marseille for a BTS, then she entered Brussels at the La Cambre school, specializing in visual arts and which offers renowned training called “styling and fashion creation”.

Internships follow one another at Balenciaga, Dior, Alexander McQueen. In 2016, she took the plunge into the great void, without means, but oh so determined, she launched her Fashion House under her name. A gamble that will pay off.

In June, his professional life changed. She received the LVMH prize from the hands of the singer Rihanna. 300,000 euros and support to develop its brand and logo. The most coveted prize for young creators. On the jury, Karl Lagerfeld. Chanel's stylist is in awe of Marine: “1.50 m, but an iron will”, he declares.

Marine Serre's career takes a turn and explodes.

Today 800,000 people follow her on Instagram. United States, Japan or South Korea, these clothes are distributed all over the planet and worn by stars: Mylène Farmer, Angèle, Adèle, Beyoncé, Aya Nakamura, swear by her jumpsuits and dresses, Michelle Obama loves her blouses imagined in Paris.

Don't waste

At the heart of the reactor of its Parisian workshops, on the ground floor, under bales of plastic, thousands of pants, dresses, sweaters, “tote bags” (un tote bag is a soft canvas bag with two handles that can be worn on the shoulder)shirts or scarves pile up… unearthed by its teams.

Don't waste. “We can do something beautiful without something new.” This is his credo. This material becomes his source of inspiration for his collections. Tartan scarves assembled to form a unique coat, stacked tote bags transform into jackets, pillowcases or old embroidered tablecloths become, once recut and recut, blouses.

Sorted, washed, ironed, these tons of fabrics will be used to create unique pieces. They are his signature. Count four hundred euros for a blouse… and thousands of euros for more elaborate creations.

Today, Marine Serre employs eighty people. A weight on his frail shoulders. But she can count on her sister, Justine, who has been there since the beginning of the adventure. Today associate director, in particular in charge of finances. She was even his first model when they were little. “When we see how far we have come, we can be very proud,” declares Justine Serre.

“Having your own brand, which bears your name, is work, it's very heavy. We are 100% independent. We are in an ultra-competitive environment. You have to constantly question yourself, be calm “Creation is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.”, explains Marine, aware of the challenges for her society.

She can count on the support of a close-knit family. At each parade, his parents leave Corrèze to be by his side. Corrèze, a land that inspires her, that supports her. “Every designer is necessarily inspired by his roots. That's where everything begins. Perhaps the ecological part of the House is the fact that I grew up in Corrèze, in a village surrounded by nature. There was no fast fashion. I dressed in my grandfather's clothes, I went to Emmaüs, I stole things from my parents…”

The next fashion show event will take place in March 2025 in Paris.

Marine Serre, the child of Sainte-Féréole, has not finished revolutionizing fashion.