Max HeyraudBelfast’s Apache Tribe brings a DIY sensibility to sustainable streetwear, reworking decades-old Irish garments with raw appliqué, bold embroidery and a distinctly independent spirit.
Belfast’s Apache Tribe has always stayed true to its DIY roots, celebrating creativity, local craftsmanship and doing things differently. With a commitment to sustainable fabrics and local production, all embroidery and appliqué work takes place within 10 miles of Belfast, keeping production miles and emissions to a minimum.
Fast fashion is responsible for an estimated 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of wastewater pollution. As an Irish brand, Apache Tribe cares deeply about protecting its land, sea and wildlife.
“As sea swimmers ourselves, we are able to see with our own eyes the damage pollution is doing to our local marine wildlife.”
That ethos recently took the team on an unexpected vintage adventure. They salvaged hundreds of garments dating from the early 1900s to the 1970s from an abandoned vintage shop in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim. Closed since the 1990s, the shop had left an incredible piece of Irish fashion history forgotten for almost 30 years.
“We came along, sorted through and salvaged what we could. This was a mammoth task, but it was amazing to wash, repair and admire the craftsmanship of tailors of the past. They really don’t make accessible clothing like this anymore.”
“It feels like we have lost mainstream fashion as an art form, a labour of love, and replaced it with hot internet trends that last a few weeks and then are replaced just as fast.”
Rather than simply restoring these finds, Apache Tribe has given them a new identity. Combining vintage pieces with the brand’s signature street-art-inspired appliqué, each garment is reworked into something completely individual. Old meets new, with a distinctly Apache attitude.
The past meets the present in a collection of pure wool coats with silk linings, heavyweight fisherman’s jackets, 70s patterned dresses, leather jackets and colourful trenches. Each one-of-a-kind piece is brought back to life with carefully chosen embroidery and contrasting appliqué, celebrating its original fabrics, textures and character.
Apache are creating sustainable streetwear with a past, a personality and a future. One-of-a-kind pieces that honour the craftsmanship of yesterday while challenging the throwaway culture of today.
