(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-14 16:47

Some of the designs by British designer Joey D - left: Long tweed skirt with leather belt waist, right: top and skirt from his Oriental khaki Chop-suey range. [Agencies]

British clothes designer Joey Deacon is on the hunt for vintage apparel to rip apart and put back together.

The Edinburgh-based couturier -- whose Joey D brand has been a hit with celebrities like Scottish singer KT Tunstall, premier league soccer players and actor Brian Cox -- scours vintage sales, shops and market stalls to find old clothes that he takes apart and then turns into unique re-creations.

"My designs are completely unplanned, constantly moving," Deacon told Reuters this week.

Deacon mixes his vintage finds with a range of unusual materials when he re-assembles them into outfits and accessories for sale in his shop, online and at shows where he appears.

Tweed jackets for men are studded with leather disc cutouts or combined with denim, while women can choose from a short rubber skirt fused to recycled belts, a camouflage bustier or a top and skirt combination that Deacon calls "Oriental khaki Chop-suey" on his Web site: www.joey-d.co.uk .

Deacon said his designs are driven by his passion for recycling clothes into unusual recreations like handbags made from camouflage netting with ammunition belts for straps or one simply described as "recycled wookie with leather strap".

"I don't really have a favorite material to work with." Deacon said. "My designs are a mix of different materials, they are very diverse."

Deacon produces 60 to 150 unique products a week and has been surprised by the resale value of his designs and the press attention that he has enjoyed.

"I'm most proud of the fact that people are enjoying my clothes. I'm chufffed to get into the papers but it's the people that make it. They are the ones that buy my stuff."