Even with bottomless pockets, good luck convincing New York’s Museum of Modern Art to sell you Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” The 1889 masterpiece is, understandably, priceless. But in a world drowning in “Starry Night” copies, what if you wanted something more meaningful than mass-produced merch? That’s exactly where Jaimus Tailor, founder of London-based upcycling studio Greater Goods, found himself. For him, none of the usual merchandise would do. If he wanted a version of Starry Night, he’d have to make his own. From scratch, from scraps.
Introducing “Vincent Van Gore-Tex”
Over the course of 100 painstaking hours, Tailor and the Greater Goods team transformed over 10,000 tiny, hand-cut pieces of discarded fabric into a breathtaking upcycled rendition of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Dubbed the Vincent Van Gore-Tex, a name that fuses the legacy of one of art’s most iconic figures with the functionality of the technical outerwear material. It’s bold, humorous, and deeply layered. Just like the work itself. “Bridging the gap between textiles, upcycling, and art has always been a goal of mine,” says Tailor.
A Sculpture Made of Scraps
To replicate the incredible texture of Van Gogh’s original, which famously swells with thick oil paint strokes, Greater Goods took a completely analog approach. Each offcut was a tiny brushstroke, an imperfect scrap saved from the bin and hand-placed with intentions. The materials came from other projects, past drops, and community workshops, making the work not just a personal homage, but a collaborative tapestry of the brand’s wider ecosystem.
Where Van Gogh used paint, Tailor used thread. Where canvas offered stability, Greater Goods relied on wonky bits of GORE-TEX, nylon, and fleece. The result? A piece that blurs the lines between sculpture and textile, much like Greater Goods blurs the boundaries between fashion, function, and fine art.
Why It Matters
In a culture hooked on instant gratification and fast fashion, Vincent Van Gore-Tex is a fresh proposition. It reminds us that waste is only waste if it’s thrown away. That the things we discard can be transformed, through care, time, and vision, into objects we might one day revere. It also positions upcycling not just an afterthought or buzzword, but as an artform in its own right. I was pleasantly surprised in person but through all the effort, for all its beauty, the piece isn’t for sale. Just like the original Starry Night, some things are too valuable to put a price on.
The Greater Goods Ethos
Greater Goods has long built its identity on reimagining technical gear, GORE-TEX jackets, climbing bags, hiking gear, as new, desirable, and wearable pieces of art. From chalk bags to outerwear, the brand specialises in breathing new life into old materials. With Vincent Van Gore-Tex, Tailor and his team take that mission to a new height. This isn’t just fashion. This isn’t just art. This is a reminder of what’s possible when we refuse to accept throwaway culture, and instead, commit to making something beautiful out of what we already have. “It sits between sculpture and textiles,” Tailor reflects. “Which kinda reflects what Greater Goods is about: existing in between things and always evolving.”
Final Thoughts
There’s something poetic about using the discarded to recreate the eternal. In Vincent Van Gore-Tex, Greater Goods invites us to rethink not just our waste, but our imagination. It’s a call to arms for anyone who believes creativity doesn’t require new materials, just a new perspective. And while you might not be able to hang Starry Night in your home, maybe that’s the point. Some works are meant to be seen, not owned.
