Fabrics, finds and fair fashion: Tamina Orenda’s favourite spots and styles

Fashion, sustainability and making things by hand – for Tamina Orenda, it’s the perfect combination. Tamina has lived in Cologne for 4 years and mainly works as a seamstress for film and television. At the same time, she shares her passion for fashion, upcycling and DIY projects on social media. She wants to inspire her followers to be more mindful of clothes and materials and to give them as long a life as possible.

Her love of crafts runs in the family. Her grandmother taught her to embroider and crochet, while she did arts and crafts and drew with her mother. Sewing eventually became her passion and later her profession.

One formative experience was an internship at Hand & Lock in 2019, as part of her fashion school training. The history of the London embroidery house dates back to 1767. There, Tamina not only learned a variety of embroidery techniques but also discovered the wealth of knowledge behind traditional crafts. In the past, fabrics were precious and expensive and people simply couldn’t afford to waste them. As a result, materials were repurposed and every last scrap was put to use.

For her final collection, Tamina embraced a zero-waste approach. Creating the pattern for a denim jacket would normally take her one or two hours. Following zero-waste principles, however, it took a full 14 hours. The challenge only made her more determined. After graduating, she knew she wanted to continue exploring sustainable fashion.

Tamina takes us on a tour of her personal world of fashion. From fabrics and sewing supplies to sustainable labels, vintage shops and flea markets, she shows us the places that spark her creativity. So how does she find inspiration and turn it into new ideas? She explains as we make our way from shop to shop.

Shopping Cologne with Tamina Orenda: 8 spots at a glance

• Selfmade: The fabric of imagination
• LANIUS: Quick inspiration from slow fashion
• ARMEDANGELS: Repair, don’t throw away
• Think Twice: Vintage treasure hunting
• Köln City Vintage & flea markets: Fabrics with a story
• Fairfitters: Hunting for materials
• Blutsgeschwister: Sustainable fashion can be colourful
• Hempies: A vegan break from shopping

Selfmade: The fabric of imagination

We start our tour at Selfmade. To me, it’s a huge, really well-stocked fabric and DIY shop. You’ll find everything you need for a sewing project here: fabrics, threads, buttons, zips, patterns and all kinds of accessories. If I’m looking for something specific, I know I can rely on Selfmade.

Actually I buy very little new. But sometimes I do need something, even if it’s just sewing thread in exactly the right colour. And that’s when I come here.

I’m a very tactile person. I love touching fabrics and making a game of guessing what they’re made of. For me, that’s already part of the creative process.

I find lots of ideas for new projects on Pinterest. At the moment, I’m trying to clear out my basement a little. It’s packed with fabrics right up to the ceiling. I’m using them to make things that my followers can win. That way, materials that have been lying around for a while get a new lease of life.

LANIUS: Quick inspiration from slow fashion

From fabrics, we move on to LANIUS. Founded in Cologne in 1999, the label now has boutiques stocking its own collection as well as other sustainable brands and accessories.

I enjoy going to fair-fashion boutiques because I find clothes there that will stay with me for a long time. You can often tell just by touching a garment how well made it is – especially when compared with many fast-fashion pieces.

ARMEDANGELS: Repair, don’t throw away

At ARMEDANGELS, I’m interested not only in the clothes but also in what the brand stands for. The Cologne-based brand has a store on Ehrenstraße and also offers a repair service.

I do think that’s important. We’ve become so used to throwing clothes away as soon as they have the smallest flaw. Yet so much can be repaired. To me, a hole isn’t automatically a reason to throw something away.

Sewing is all about experimenting: How can I make something exactly the way I want it? This kind of problem-solving is at the heart of my work as a seamstress. And you can apply the same mindset to your own wardrobe.

After all, repairing something doesn’t just mean keeping a garment for longer. At the same time, it means taking another look at it – and discovering what else it could become.

If my favourite ARMEDANGELS piece – the MURLIAA jeans – eventually wears out, I won’t throw it away. I’ll repair it. And if you can’t do that yourself, you can simply take it to the repair service.

Think Twice: Vintage treasure hunting

At Think Twice, shopping turns into a treasure hunt. The vintage and second-hand shop has several locations in Cologne. For me, it’s all about discovering things I would never have expected to find.

When I’m browsing vintage shops for an upcycling project, colour is the first thing I look for. I love shades of red, for example, as well as unusual patterns. If something catches my eye, I take a closer look: How was the piece made? Does it have any special embroidery or interesting details? And could I use it for a project I already have in mind?

I find it incredibly exciting to see what treasures you can find in vintage shops. One minute it’s a handmade one-off, the next an unusual piece with a Japanese label, and then you come across a designer blazer.

Köln City Vintage & flea markets: Fabrics with a story

Another of my favourite places is Köln City Vintage on Friesenwall. In fact, Vintage shops are an amazing source of materials for me.

After all, if you want to sew something, you don’t always have to buy new fabric. Curtains and tablecloths are great because they give you large pieces of material to work with. My top tip is pleated skirts: remove the waistband and iron out the pleats, and you’ll often end up with more than a metre of usable fabric.

Flea markets are another great place to hunt for materials. I find necklaces there that are easy to take apart and use the beads for my own projects.

I even keep a second-hand wish list. Some people criticise second-hand shopping because everything is one of a kind or doesn’t come in the right size. I see that as a challenge. If I can’t find something, I add it to my wish list. Then it becomes a long-term project.

For around four years now, for example, I’ve been looking for a pair of red boots in size 38. So if anyone happens to spot some …

Fairfitters: Hunting for materials

Next, we head into the Belgian Quarter to Fairfitters. The eco-fashion concept store on Brüsseler Straße stocks a wide range of fair and sustainable brands.

For me, being here is a bit like window-shopping with my hands. I can discover new materials, compare colours and find inspiration.

At Fairfitters, I often discover things that work really well for me – such as the ribbed socks from MELAWEAR. They’re simple and high-quality, but the little embroidered detail still makes them special. To me, sustainability and having fun with fashion go hand in hand. And sometimes it’s the little things you enjoy for a long time – whether it’s something for your own wardrobe or a sustainable gift for someone else.

Blutsgeschwister: Sustainable fashion can be colourful

For the final stop on our shopping tour, we head to Blutsgeschwister on Brüsseler Straße. The brand is known for its colourful patterns, playful cuts and distinctive style.

That’s very much my style. I think sustainable fashion should be fun. Just because you want to shop more consciously doesn’t mean you have to give up colour, patterns or unusual cuts.

I’m already looking forward to all the colourful autumn fashion. Whenever a new collection comes out, I enjoy seeing which colours and patterns catch my eye and whether there’s anything I could imagine adding to my own wardrobe.

Furthermore I especially like the fact that there’s also a pre-loved rail here. It gives previously worn Blutsgeschwister pieces a second chance. To me, that fits perfectly with the idea running through our entire tour: a garment doesn’t have to be new to be special. Sometimes it’s the story behind a piece that makes it interesting.

Hempies: A vegan break from shopping

After all those fabrics, clothes and browsing, I need a break. So we head to Hempies. The vegan bistro serves handmade, entirely plant-based breakfast and brunch dishes.

My absolute favourite is the panini with an Alsatian tarte flambée-inspired filling, tomato and chives. And the brownie is delicious too – the perfect way to round off our day.

What I like about this route is that it isn’t a traditional shopping tour. It’s about discovering things, touching them, trying things out and finding inspiration. Sometimes you find a piece of clothing, sometimes a fabric and sometimes simply an idea.

For me, perhaps that’s also the most beautiful form of sustainability: not always looking for something new, but instead seeing what’s already there – and what else you can make of it.