Hotel couture: Designer makes clothes from Paris hotel curtains

By Francesca Street, CNN
4 minute read
Published 6:28 AM EDT, Fri October 13, 2017
<strong>From curtain to catwalk</strong>: Fashion designer Alexandra Hartmann created a new clothes line after spotting curtains abandoned in front of a hotel: "There was something that really kind of attracted me about the fabric, it was fascinating."
From curtain to catwalk: Fashion designer Alexandra Hartmann created a new clothes line after spotting curtains abandoned in front of a hotel: "There was something that really kind of attracted me about the fabric, it was fascinating."
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Unexpected inspiration:</strong> Hartmann was struck by the texture of the material. "It was incredibly soft and it had a reversible side to it," she says. "I thought, wow, I could make something very cool with this."
Unexpected inspiration: Hartmann was struck by the texture of the material. "It was incredibly soft and it had a reversible side to it," she says. "I thought, wow, I could make something very cool with this."
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Winning idea</strong>: Hartmann transformed the abandoned curtains into a stylish jacket. At first it was just for fun, but she received many compliments on her creation -- and she decided to make more.
Winning idea: Hartmann transformed the abandoned curtains into a stylish jacket. At first it was just for fun, but she received many compliments on her creation -- and she decided to make more.
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Upcycling</strong>: The project spoke to Hartmann's passion for sustainable fashion: "I knew I wanted to work in fashion, but at the same time I think I was a bit disgusted by it," she says. "I didn't want to make anything new."
Upcycling: The project spoke to Hartmann's passion for sustainable fashion: "I knew I wanted to work in fashion, but at the same time I think I was a bit disgusted by it," she says. "I didn't want to make anything new."
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Promoting sustainability: </strong>Hartmann thinks there is a growing interest in sustainable fashion. "I think people are really understanding more and more the impact fast fashion has," she says.
Promoting sustainability: Hartmann thinks there is a growing interest in sustainable fashion. "I think people are really understanding more and more the impact fast fashion has," she says.
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Hotel calling</strong>: To get hold of more curtain material, Hartmann contacted every Parisian hotel she could think of and pitched them her concept, asking for abandoned material. "Every hotel, motel, auberge -- I just called everyone -- and I started calling the really posh ones," she says.
Hotel calling: To get hold of more curtain material, Hartmann contacted every Parisian hotel she could think of and pitched them her concept, asking for abandoned material. "Every hotel, motel, auberge -- I just called everyone -- and I started calling the really posh ones," she says.
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Surprised reaction</strong>: The response from the hotels was mixed: "Some of them were so, so nice and some people were quite rude," explains Hartmann -- but she managed to get enough interested to kick-start her new brand, aptly named Hôtel.
Surprised reaction: The response from the hotels was mixed: "Some of them were so, so nice and some people were quite rude," explains Hartmann -- but she managed to get enough interested to kick-start her new brand, aptly named Hôtel.
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>The process</strong>: Due to the limited amount of fabric and sometimes fragile nature of the textile, Hartmann has to think through each design carefully: "I need to think, what is the weight of it? How is it going to fall? How should it be cut?"
The process: Due to the limited amount of fabric and sometimes fragile nature of the textile, Hartmann has to think through each design carefully: "I need to think, what is the weight of it? How is it going to fall? How should it be cut?"
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Story telling</strong>: Each piece tells a story -- about its original home and future owner: "They all have a personality and it feels like the story is woven into the fabric. It's not just new coming out of a factory," says Hartmann.
Story telling: Each piece tells a story -- about its original home and future owner: "They all have a personality and it feels like the story is woven into the fabric. It's not just new coming out of a factory," says Hartmann.
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>In vogue:</strong> Paris-born Hartmann says her designs are inextricably linked to their original Parisian hotel homes: "I have the minimalistic, simple cut that I have because I studied in Denmark," she says. "But also because I'm Parisian, there's some of this crazy, hotel fabric prints and embroidery."
In vogue: Paris-born Hartmann says her designs are inextricably linked to their original Parisian hotel homes: "I have the minimalistic, simple cut that I have because I studied in Denmark," she says. "But also because I'm Parisian, there's some of this crazy, hotel fabric prints and embroidery."
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Beyond the city: </strong>Hartmann's team are now looking beyond Paris hotel rooms and to hotels, motels, boarding houses and lodges across the country.
Beyond the city: Hartmann's team are now looking beyond Paris hotel rooms and to hotels, motels, boarding houses and lodges across the country.
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>French fashion</strong>: "We recently did a capsule collection with some curtains from the south of France, from Provence," she says.
French fashion: "We recently did a capsule collection with some curtains from the south of France, from Provence," she says.
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Vintage glamor</strong>: Hartmann says the project is "really fun and quirky" and allows her to use vintage material that would otherwise not be available. "You realize that things used to have much more quality, these days the fabric, it's very poor."
Vintage glamor: Hartmann says the project is "really fun and quirky" and allows her to use vintage material that would otherwise not be available. "You realize that things used to have much more quality, these days the fabric, it's very poor."
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>'The hills are alive...'</strong>: Hartmann is also in good company, in the iconic 1965 movie "The Sound of Music," Maria, played by Julie Andrews, makes clothes for her young charges out of old curtains. Hartmann laughs at the comparison: "That's really funny because I remember seeing that film when I was a kid," she says. "But I hadn't thought about it all!"
'The hills are alive...': Hartmann is also in good company, in the iconic 1965 movie "The Sound of Music," Maria, played by Julie Andrews, makes clothes for her young charges out of old curtains. Hartmann laughs at the comparison: "That's really funny because I remember seeing that film when I was a kid," she says. "But I hadn't thought about it all!"
Courtesy Hôtel
<strong>Unconventional couture</strong>: Instead, Hartmann says the project has taken off unexpectedly: "I took it all step-by-step and then was thinking, am I really doing this? Is this too weird?" she says. "I just had fun doing it, I knew I liked it -- and if I liked it maybe someone else would like it."
Unconventional couture: Instead, Hartmann says the project has taken off unexpectedly: "I took it all step-by-step and then was thinking, am I really doing this? Is this too weird?" she says. "I just had fun doing it, I knew I liked it -- and if I liked it maybe someone else would like it."
Courtesy Hôtel
Photos: The fashion designer turning hotel curtains into clothes
CNN  — 

One evening, fashion designer Alexandra Hartmann was walking down a street in her native Paris when she spotted a pair of old curtains – abandoned in front of a hotel in the city’s Belleville district.

“There was something that really kind of attracted me about the fabric, it was fascinating,” Hartmann tells CNN Travel.

Struck by the luxurious texture of the material and its eye-catching, reversible pattern, Hartmann’s creative side kicked in.

“I thought, wow I could make something very cool with this,” she recalls.

This serendipitous discovery marked the beginning of Hôtel – Hartmann’s curtain-turned-clothing fashion collection.

Now the designer regularly turns unwanted Parisian hotel curtains into beautiful jackets.

From curtain to catwalk