From Hotel Textiles to the Runway: CLOTH’EL at the Reformé Fashion Show

On 1 September, CLOTH’EL presented six looks at the Reformé Fashion Show in Budapest, held as a side event of Budapest Central European Fashion Week.

Dedicated to upcycled fashion, the event brought together designers who see existing materials not as limitations, but as starting points for new ideas. For CLOTH’EL, it was an opportunity to show how premium hotel textiles can move beyond their original purpose and return in an entirely new form.

When existing materials inspire new design

Fashion weeks are traditionally places where new silhouettes, materials and ideas are introduced. The Reformé Fashion Show offered a different perspective: innovation can also begin with what already exists.

By bringing upcycled garments to the runway within the context of Budapest Central European Fashion Week, the event presented textile reuse not simply as an environmental response, but as a creative design opportunity.

The CLOTH’EL looks combined two very different types of reclaimed hotel textiles: former curtains from The Torridon, a five-star hotel in the Scottish Highlands, and premium white bed linen from The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest.

One is richly patterned, structured and expressive. The other is minimal, lightweight and timeless. Together, they demonstrate how the original character of a textile can guide a new design while allowing it to tell a completely different story.

Six looks, multiple possibilities

The first look paired the Torridon Reversible Jacket with the Shirt with Adjustable Collar and Belt, worn tucked into denim. The brown side of the jacket created a restrained outer layer, while a glimpse of its patterned reverse revealed the textile’s decorative origins.

The shirt then returned on its own, allowing its adjustable collar and clean construction to take centre stage.

Another look featured the Shirt with Asymmetrical Buttoning, complemented by a Torridon Envelope Bag and Torridon Reversible Earrings. Here, white hotel bed linen and richly patterned curtain fabric appeared together in one contemporary composition.

The Shirt with Adjustable Collar and Belt was shown again in a different form: worn loose, shaped with its belt and paired with Torridon Reversible Earrings. Presenting the same garment in more than one way highlighted its versatility and the possibilities of considered, adaptable design.

A new white trouser-and-waistcoat set, created from former Ritz-Carlton bed linen, was styled with the patterned side of the Torridon Reversible Jacket. A Torridon Cosmetic Bag and matching earrings completed the look. The combination brought the two material stories together most visibly: crisp white bed linen alongside the colour and structure of former hotel curtains.

The presentation also included the Torridon Dress, further exploring how an interior textile with a strong visual identity can be transformed into a distinctive garment.

More than a change of form

Upcycling is not simply about turning one object into another. It begins with recognising the remaining value of a material and designing in response to its existing qualities.

Hotel textiles are selected for durability, comfort and visual impact. Even after they can no longer be used in their original setting, many retain the strength and character needed for a meaningful second life.

On the runway, these materials were no longer seen as former bed linen or curtains. They became garments and accessories designed to move, to be worn and to continue their story beyond the hotel environment.

The Reformé Fashion Show gave this transformation a visible stage — demonstrating that circular design can be expressive, contemporary and uncompromising in its aesthetic ambition.

One fabric. Two lives. Endless possibilities.

Photos: @erik.klotz_