Our Story

Rethread is a Cape Town-based fashion label creating bold, versatile clothing in small batches. Born from a love of design and a desire to do things differently, we reimagine wardrobe staples through thoughtful craftsmanship, circular thinking, and a whole lot of personality.

Rethread was born in Amsterdam in 2019.

At the time, our founder Alexa Schempers was completing a Master’s in Fashion Enterprise Creation at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute - a program built around one bold brief: create a fashion business from scratch.

Two years (and many experiments) later, Rethread officially launched in Cape Town in November 2020 with a capsule collection of upcycled, new, and vintage pieces.

Today, Rethread is a proudly local label based in Cape Town, creating small-batch collections that blend thoughtful design with circular principles.

Some of our pieces are upcycled - reworked from vintage garments into something entirely new. Others are made from fabric roll, crafted locally by skilled artisans in Cape Town. And every now and then, we source a curated drop of vintage gems we just couldn’t leave behind.

But all are designed with intention: made to last, made to be worn often, and made to be reimagined in your own way.


At our core, we’re about craftsmanship, creative expression, and making fashion feel exciting again. 

Do good. Dress better.
That’s the mission. Thanks for threading it forward with us