The Working Wardrobe: Julie Pelipas

A self-described product of Ukraine’s second-hand fashion culture, Julie Pelipas has always possessed a gift for rescuing unused, unloved clothes and turning them into something extra-special. Crediting her savvy sewing skills to DNA – Pelipas’s mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were all professional garment-makers – she grew up amid the whirring buzz of sewing machines, and made outfits for her dolls before discovering one of her grandfather’s suits from the Soviet Union era. “I upcycled these huge pants – which were in a really nice, thick fabric – into a wide-leg pair for myself,” she recalls, fondly. “It was the first time I felt unique. I was a shy kid who often got bullied for being so tall, and these pants made me feel empowered.”

It wasn’t just treasures from her grandfather’s closet that fueled her love of men’s tailoring: Giorgio Armani’s gentlemanly style and old Calvin Klein editorials inspired her, too. “My dream was to bring this style into a woman’s world in a way that looked and felt fantastic,” Pelipas explains. Fast-forward to her time at Harper’s Bazaar Ukraine and Vogue Ukraine, when street-style photographers rushed to capture her always-covetable Fashion Week looks, leaving online sleuths frantically trying to find out – with little success – where they could buy her sensational tailoring. “The majority of the suits I’m wearing in those photos were upcycled vintage ones that people mistakenly thought were Celine,” she reveals, adding that it took only a simple readjustment of a pre-owned men’s suit to create the viral pants with ‘elephant ears’. The excess fabric was cleverly pinched each side of the waistband to reimagine the shape and volume of equestrian jodhpurs through a more contemporary, structural lens.

Regardless of the hype, the most important takeaway for Pelipas was the feeling of absolute comfort she found from wearing her reworked menswear – something she is replicating with her upcycling brand Bettter, which is new to NET-A-PORTER this month. The extra ‘t’ in Bettter is there because it resembles a plus sign, reflecting the idea of adding value and meaning to high-quality clothes. “There are rumors swirling that Bettter has three ‘t’s because of a typo that we ended up liking, which is funny but not true,” says the founder and creative director. “At Bettter, we take what was considered deadstock and give it a new life through redesign. It would have been so simple to keep the word better as it is, so I decided to upcycle it with an extra ‘t’.”

Part of our consciously crafted NET SUSTAIN edit, Bettter’s blazers, summer coats, pleated pants, reconstructed jeans and oversized shirts all qualify for Designed for Circularity, and engineer transparency with ‘Bettter passports’ that detail sourcing and production information along with fiber breakdowns. “The partnership with NET-A-PORTER is a big milestone for us, because it shows that we can get together and find a way to collaborate. I’m proud to bring upcycling to the level where it’s possible and scalable,” says Pelipas.

Though it may seem like Pelipas’s signature sense of style has always been cut and dried, she admits that it took some time to define her look and determine how fashion could best serve her. “I had so many eras of trying out different things, including a raver era and sporty era,” she admits, noting that she felt at her most uncomfortable when trying on trends during her time at Vogue. “I was literally counting down the minutes until I could put my personal uniform back on,” she says. Now assured and confident in everything she wears, Pelipas shares her tips for building a practical yet fashionable wardrobe, and explains why viewing clothes as memories will bring you even more pleasure.

“The most profound influence on my style is my grandmother. Even when gardening, she somehow managed to always look elegant and gorgeous. We had a farm and whenever she was feeding the chickens or ducks, she would be wearing blouses, tidy knitwear and skirts – never pants. The skirts were done out of suit fabrics so they would be slightly masculine and always practical. My mother was also very influential to me but in the opposite way. She was a fatale woman: blonde with red nails, always bright and very sexy – I appreciate that look and replicated it so many times at Vogue Ukraine for cover stories and editorials, but I never applied it to myself. Fran Lebowitz also inspires me because her style comes from her attitude and intellect, and the same goes for Marlene Dietrich. I also loved how Pina Bausch would always have such a natural look while rehearsing that seemed very comfortable and true to herself.”

“For day-to-night dressing, I would just change from a T-shirt under my suit to a minimal corset. Tops are a wardrobe essential – once you own around three to five perfect suits, the right blouses and shirts will help to really maximize their wear and bring a whole new story to your look. Switching up bags and shoes can also help you to wear the same suit for three days in a row, but I must admit that I’m not a great shoe lover. I'm so tall I feel like my choice is limited – let's just say that sneakers and ballet slippers are my constant friends!”