Altered Eco channels childhood design dreams to produce sustainable fashion
Elissa Martin began Altered Eco, a sustainable clothing brand, after encouragement from her kindergarten students. Now, the brand remains dedicated to sustainability as well as diversity and inclusion. Zabdyl Koffa | Contributing Photographer
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While growing up in Syracuse, Elissa Martin always wanted to be a designer. After encouragement from her mother to seek a stable career path, she started her professional life as a teacher instead. But she didn’t feel completely fulfilled. It wasn’t until one of her students asked her what she would do if she weren’t teaching that she had a lightbulb moment.
“I remember one of my students asked me if I liked my job. I was honest — no, I didn’t like my job,” Martin said.
That question sparked her to dream bigger and return to school, this time for fashion design. While studying design at Cazenovia College, she saw the damage the fashion industry inflicts on the planet. Martin made a commitment to herself to not contribute more harm. Now, that passion has flourished into her own clothing brand, Altered Eco.
Altered Eco focuses on upcycling both clothing and jewelry. She’s shown her work at events ranging from New York Fashion Week to local theater productions. She runs the brand while working as a substitute teacher in the Liverpool and Syracuse City School Districts, and as an adjunct professor at Genesee Community College.
Martin repurposes old clothing and fabric to create her pieces. She believes you can find new pieces from what you already have in your closet. When Martin receives clothing donations, she often creates something entirely new for the donor. She describes the process of designing and sewing as wrapping a gift in reverse.
“That’s my creative process,” Martin said. “I just let the clothes speak to me and they find me, then I go from there.”
Along with creating clothing, one of Martin’s missions with Altered Eco is to educate her audience on sustainable fashion practices. She wants to use her design education to bring awareness to the effects of fast fashion on the environment. Each repurposed piece represents clothes saved from going to a landfill.
Hannah Mesa | Design Editor
Martin’s eco-friendly approach caught the eye of local artist and museum owner Michael Schwarzer. Martin met him at Redhouse Arts Center when she was designing costumes for a show, and he loved her designs.
After that, Martin started to make some designs for him, like a collection made from an old newspaper for his storefront. She loved his artwork so much that she asked him to collaborate on her new line.
“I kind of married art and fashion, by just making connections with other people that have insane like-mindedness,” Martin said. “Merging art and fashion together, because fashion is art.”
Martin’s designs were also featured in Syracuse Fashion Week multiple times in the last few years. During one of these shows, she met Simeun Sadipe, a model from Watertown, New York.
Sadipe had a love of fashion from a young age — his favorite show in high school was “America’s Next Top Model.” Sadipe was new to modeling when Martin reached out to him to walk in the show. Although he didn’t have prior runway experience, he was eager to step out of his comfort zone and represent Altered Eco.
”It really opened my mind because I realized I love it, so now I just want to keep doing it,” Sadipe said.
Sadipe found Martin’s outgoing personality welcoming, which eased his nerves about his first runway walk. Martin aims to represent all body types in her clothing, rather than focusing on one specific type. He said Martin looks for diverse representation in her shows and provides transparency for her models, making him feel confident and capable.
Along with diversity, Martin is committed to sustainability, though it’s not always easy. She needs to source eco-friendly fabrics, buttons, zippers and more, which can be difficult to find in Syracuse.
Martin’s dedication has inspired people she works with, such as Melody Jacobs. Jacobs is a licensed cosmetologist and model who has worked with Martin for many years.
“She caught my eye first at the Sip and Shoot. I automatically wanted to know who she was and what she was about,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs modeled for Altered Eco this past spring at Syracuse Fashion Week and styled hair for the show. Martin is committed to providing a platform for artisans to explore their craft. Collaboration is a huge facet of Altered Eco, bringing together different disciplines under the same sustainable umbrella, Jacobs said.
“Her feedback is amazing,” Jacobs said. “I can’t even put into words, but I’m smiling thinking about the way she reacts to certain things. She speaks life into people.”
Martin recognizes it’s not easy for everyone to shop and design sustainably. Looking ahead, she wants to continue spreading her message and educating the community on how to shop consciously. Martin sees it like this: if you take care of the Earth, it will take care of you.
“Trends come and go and clothes are meant to last,” Martin said. “They should not be disposable. You should not be buying something that is meant to be thrown out.”
