By Daphne Groeneveld, Founder of Lost Labels
I’ve been modeling for over 15 years, and after spending so much of my life working closely within the fashion industry, I’ve come to appreciate fashion in a completely different way.
I’ve had the chance to see what happens behind the scenes, the creativity, the pressure, the craftsmanship and, most importantly, the people who bring a collection to life.
One of my favourite memories is from working with Calvin Klein.
I remember doing looks just a week before Fashion Week. I’d be at a fitting and the designer would literally walk up to me with a piece of fabric.
A piece of fabric.
And I’d be thinking to myself, How are they possibly going to create an entire collection when the show is next week?
And somehow, every single time, they did.
Watching that process up close made me realise just how much thought, creativity and work goes into the clothes we wear. You start to look at fashion differently when you’ve seen what happens before something ever makes it onto a runway or into a store.
I love fashion.
But more than that, I love the stories behind fashion.
I believe so many of the pieces hanging in our closets have a story to tell. Maybe it’s the dress you wore on an unforgettable night, the jacket you bought on a trip, or the piece that made you feel like the best version of yourself.
But sometimes, even when we love something, it’s time to let it go.
Especially when you live in New York City and closet space is, to put it lightly, limited.
I found myself looking at my own wardrobe and seeing so many incredible pieces that I simply wasn’t wearing anymore. Not because I didn’t love them, but because there was only so much space and only so many times I could wear them.
And I started thinking:
What if those pieces could have another life?
What if something that had been special to me could become special to someone else?
That was the beginning of Lost Labels.
Giving Great Pieces Another Story
Lost Labels was created with a simple idea:
Good clothes deserve to be worn.
I don’t want beautiful pieces sitting forgotten at the back of someone’s closet just because they’re no longer being worn by the person who originally bought them.
I want them to move.
From one closet to another.
From one person’s story to the next.
Because there’s something really exciting about finding a piece that already has a history, knowing someone else loved it before you, and now it gets to become part of your story.
For me, that’s what makes fashion so special.
It’s personal.
And I think there’s something even more special about giving something you love the chance to be loved again.
Why Lost Labels?
Lost Labels is about finding those pieces that you don’t see everywhere.
The pieces with character. The pieces you fall in love with. The pieces that make you stop and think, I need that.
It’s about celebrating fashion beyond the idea of something being “new.”
Because a piece doesn’t become less beautiful because someone else wore it first.
If anything, its story makes it better.
I also love the idea that the pieces in our wardrobes don’t have to have just one owner or one chapter.
Maybe that dress has already been to Paris.
Maybe that jacket has seen more parties than you can count.
Maybe those shoes were someone's absolute favourite for years.
And now they’re ready for something new.
That’s what I hope Lost Labels can create, a place where fashion keeps moving, stories keep growing, and the pieces we love get the chance to live on.
Because sometimes, letting go of something you love doesn’t mean the story is over.
It just means someone else gets to write the next chapter.
Welcome to Lost Labels.
Daphne Groeneveld
