We like this idea: Above + Below London, a new footwear label, uses fabrics that have been reclaimed from London buses and Underground carriages from the 1950s through to the 1990s—with the permission of Transport for London. Some are rare and will likely take wearers back to an earlier era.
   Central St Martin’s graduate Robert Taylor and music promoter–film-maker Caroline Read are the brains behind Above + Below London.
   ‘The first in the range is a tribute to Chuck Taylor’s enduring hi-top classic basketball shoe,’ says the company. ‘They incorporate recycled tyre rubber in the soles, restored Tube and bus seat textiles in the uppers and reused leather cheque book wallets in the trim.’
   Unlike other labels that have reclaimed materials, Above + Below’s are rather stylish. Their designs are also not stuck in the past.
   The label aims to create the ‘greenest trainers on the market’ and currently seeks retailers. It pledges to donate a tree for each pair sold, to be planted inside the M25 by charity tree planting partners Trees for Cities.

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