Overlab‘s (CEO Park Jeong-sil) upcycling brand ‘OVERLAB’ has been recording sales growth of 1.5 times every year since its launch in 2020. In the fashion market that follows trends, Overlap collects materials that have reached the end of their lifespan based on leisure sports and manufactures them into new items. Consumers, suppliers, and producers work together to form a virtuous cycle.
Park Jeong-sil, CEO of Overlab, is a designer from Kolon Industries’ FnC division’s upcycling fashion brand ‘Record’. He joined the company in the early days of the brand’s launch in 2012 and worked there for seven years. She said, “My current fashion values, including upcycling design and work process, all started from Record.”
CEO Park said, “The reason I entered the eco-friendly and upcycling field was largely influenced by my graduate school professor. He was very interested in the environment and fashion, and while I was wandering around, I naturally came into contact with that field.” Meanwhile, she had been interested in fashion since she was young, majored in clothing studies in college, and continued her master’s degree in the same field.
Worked at Kolon FnC ‘Recode’ for 7 years, sincere about the environment
CEO Park, who happened to go paragliding with an acquaintance and learned that the equipment was discarded every two years, said, “At first, I thought it was an interesting and pretty material, so I observed it closely while riding a paraglider.” He added, “After hearing that the material has a short lifespan, “I thought I should collect it and use it myself,” he said.
CEO Park said, “When I actually researched leisure sports, there were a lot of articles and articles about industry prospects and trends. On the other hand, there were almost no solutions or alternatives to discarding, such as the short lifespan and how to dispose of equipment,” he explained. “The leisure sports market is expected to grow, so I launched the brand because I thought I should contribute to the sustainability of the industry.” .
We wanted to present a literally sustainable brand with our own standards. In particular, we pursued products that can be used frequently but for a long time, and aimed at growing sales so that the brand could continue to be profitable.
“We will contribute to sustainability in the leisure sports industry.”
The brand name was created by combining the moment of life’s end with ‘OVERLIFE’ and ‘LAB’, which means laboratory. We added the wrap because we had the belief that we should continue to research and develop, and it carries the meaning of ‘a laboratory that thinks about what comes after life has ended.’
The company mainly sells bag products such as backpacks, tote bags, Sacoche bags, and briefcases, and also sells accessory lines such as wallets, key rings, hats, and tumbler holders. All were made by collecting discarded paragliders, tents, yacht sails, and diving suits. These materials commonly have windproof, waterproof, and water-repellent functions, including UV protection.
“Upcycling brands first look for materials before designing. “We always look for discarded fabrics and keep in mind how the materials will be expressed well when created with a certain concept,” he said. “The products that can be made are divided by material. Therefore, what material is used is most important when planning a product,” he explained.
Air Busan + Overlap → Airplane seats turn into slippers
Overlap has continued its activities to solve the problem of waste disposal, which is a concern for each company. In 2022, a new product was launched in collaboration with Air Busan. If an airplane seat cover is washed more than 10 times, Air Busan discards it. Overlap collected seat covers and made them into new slippers.
In March of this year, an experiential and sales pop-up store was held for about a week on the first basement floor of The Hyundai Seoul, Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. As a representative example, the process of dismantling a paraglider was shown on site. We also held an event where bags were cut and sent to customers one week later.
CEO Park said, “It was always disappointing that there were many upcycling brands that started but disappeared quickly.” He added, “I think it would be good if eco-friendly and upcycling brands gathered together to form one community. “I want to grow together by sharing our own know-how,” he concluded the interview.
profile
2008~2009 SUL YUN HYOUNG Designer
2009 Bachelor’s degree in Clothing and Textiles from Chonbuk National University
2012 Master’s degree in Clothing and Textiles from Seoul National University
2012~2018 RE;CODE designer
2020~Present Overlap CEO and Director
This article was published in the October 2024 issue of Fashion Biz.
Fashion Biz provides various research information on the fashion business field every month.
