Michelle Patzi Figueroa - Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft Hamburg

Reclaimed – Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft Hamburg

At Neo.Fashion Berlin, Michelle Patzi Figueroa presents Reclaimed, a collection that reimagines the role of imperfection in fashion. Through a collaboration with Uniqlo, Patzi sourced defective and unsellable garments marked by stains, holes, and alteration mishaps and transformed them into expressive, high-concept pieces that challenge the industry’s fixation on flawlessness. Rooted in the Japanese philosophies of kintsugi, wabi-sabi, and sashiko, the collection treats each defect as a point of departure for creativity rather than concealment. Whether a torn seam or a worn-out texture, every flaw becomes a deliberate, celebrated element of design. Influenced by her upbringing in Bolivia and design sensibilities shaped in South Korea, Patzi weaves cultural nuance, emotional resonance, and visual storytelling into each garment. Reclaimed is more than a sustainable upcycling project it’s a philosophical statement about authenticity, beauty, and resilience in contemporary fashion. By embracing imperfection as an aesthetic and ethical value, this collection invites us to reconsider what makes clothing meaningful in a world increasingly defined by overproduction and visual perfection.

About the Designer
Michelle Patzi Figueroa, born in La Paz, Bolivia in 1999, is a fashion designer whose work explores the emotional and material potential of imperfection. A graduate of HAW Hamburg and an exchange student at SeoulTech, she brings a unique intercultural perspective to her designs, shaped by her upbringing at the German School in La Paz and creative experiences across Bolivia, South Korea, and Germany. With a background in styling and hands-on involvement in festivals and exhibitions, Michelle moves fluidly between disciplines from architecture and printmaking to textile craft and curation. Her design aesthetic is vibrant yet contemplative, drawing heavily from music, conceptual narratives, and personal memory. Currently, she directs the upcycling design studio at Uniqlo Hamburg, where she continues to develop sustainable design strategies that are both thoughtful and expressive. Michelle’s work is driven by a desire to create immersive, emotionally resonant experiences