Founding Principles with Anna Foster from E.L.V. Denim

Walpole: What is your career background – and how did that lead to launching your company?

Anna Foster: My background is in fashion styling and creative direction, where I saw first-hand the enormous waste generated by the industry. I launched E.L.V. DENIM to challenge that, starting with just £1,500, everything from my 25-year career in the industry, and a belief that upcycling could be a viable business model. I wanted to prove you could create luxury from what others discard, and that upcycling wasn’t just a niche concept, but a scalable, luxurious alternative to the status quo. That sustainability doesn’t mean compromise — it can be synonymous with quality, style, and innovation.

Tell us about your company...

E.L.V. DENIM is a luxury fashion brand built entirely on the principles of circularity. We transform 100% upcycled, post-consumer garments into expertly tailored garments — all made locally in East London. Every piece is crafted from discarded materials, yet designed with precision, quality, and longevity in mind.

Having launched with denim in 2018 we now have extended our range into shirting, tailoring, and leather. We operate at scale and across industries, proving that upcycling isn’t just possible — it’s a commercially viable and desirable model. By upskilling manufacturers and partnering with textile sorters, we’re creating a blueprint for a more responsible future in fashion.

Why was launching this company important to you?

Launching E.L.V. DENIM was my response to a somewhat broken system. I couldn’t stand by while the fashion industry continued to produce at unsustainable rates, fuelling waste and environmental harm. I wanted to prove that there was another way — one that didn’t rely on virgin materials or greenwashing. It was important to me to show that upcycling could be elevated to the highest standard, both creatively and commercially. This brand is about more than just clothes — it’s about challenging the industry, changing perceptions, and building a future where responsibility and beauty go hand in hand.

How does your company represent the future of British luxury?

E.L.V. DENIM represents a new era of British luxury — one defined not by excess, but by responsibility, innovation, and craftsmanship. We honour the heritage of British tailoring while radically rethinking the materials we use. By proving that sustainability can exist at scale and without compromise, we’re setting a precedent for what the future of luxury must be: conscious, considered, and circular.

What’s an important value for you that you’ve ensured is part of your business?

A core value I built E.L.V. DENIM on is a vow never to use virgin fibres or rolls of new fabric, only 100% post-consumer garments. From day one, we’ve also committed to producing everything locally, within a three-mile radius in East London. I’m incredibly proud that as we’ve grown, we’ve never compromised on those principles. In fact, we remain the only brand operating at scale that can truly say this, and that integrity is central to everything we do

Tell me about an obstacle you’ve experienced in establishing your business, and how you overcame it?

One of the biggest obstacles was convincing the industry — and even suppliers — that upcycling could be a serious business model. At the beginning, there was a real lack of understanding; many assumed working with post-consumer waste meant compromising on quality or design.

To overcome this, I focused on execution, and taking traditional technique and applying them in untraditional ways to make sure that we can preserve the material. However, it’s very important that these methods are easily translatable to existing ateliers, it can’t interrupt their traditional workflow, otherwise we are creating obstacles for an industry that we want to support. 

By creating meticulously crafted garments that stood alongside traditionally-made pieces, we proved that waste isn’t a limitation, but a resource. As demand grew, so did belief in our model. Now, we’re not only creating at scale, but showing others how to do the same.

What is your ultimate goal for your business? What’s the dream?

The ultimate goal is to rewrite the industry’s approach to waste — proving that circular fashion can be beautiful, profitable, and the norm rather than the exception. I want E.L.V. DENIM to be the global benchmark for responsible luxury, not just through our own collections, but by guiding other brands to adopt our methods. The dream is a fashion industry where no raw material is needed, where existing garments are valued as resources, and where quality and responsibility define success.

Our 5-year plan is to duplicate our localised supply chain operations in international locations where there are huge amounts of textile waste.  We want to treat global markets as if they are local by manufacturing and distributing at the source of textile waste, and at the same time helping to support a worldwide circular upcycling economy.

What’s a key piece of advice you’d share with another entrepreneur that you’ve learned or been given on your journey?

Politely, don’t take no for an answer. When you are disrupting the status quo, the answer is ‘no’ most likely because they don’t know the answer and you are probably asking the wrong person or company. It taught me to never compromise on my beliefs.