“Playing dress-up should be an everyday occurrence,” says Jensina Endresen, Iowa City’s queen of vintage furs and proprietress of BUSTLEWORSHIP.
Born in 2012, BUSTLEWORSHIP’s mission is to breathe new life into closets everywhere through the re-use and re-design of vintage materials. “I have a deep commitment to artisanal restoration and reuse,” says Endresen. “And I love creating new-age fashion relics using vintage and repurposed furs, fabric, feathers, leather and metal materials.”
Central to BUSTLEWORSHIP are its fur stoles, wraps and collars. Endresen sources her furs—all of which pre-date the 1980s—from thrift stores, flea markets and internet searches. Each piece is then carefully restored, repaired and relined by hand using a mixture of new and old fabrics and fine silk scarves.
Video by Jason Smith
In addition to furs, BUSTLEWORSHIP also offers bowties, necklaces, hair accessories and cuffs all handcrafted from scrap leather and suede rescued from an unworthy demise in a landfill.
“Pulling inspiration out of everything from boheme and Biba, to 1950s girl gangs and cartoon lady-villains, I aim to combine the high-fashion imagery of bygone eras with a contemporary consciousness and street-style ethos,” Endresen says.
Catch BUSTLEWORSHIP at the Renegade Craft Fair Winter Market in Chicago (Dec. 7-8), at Iowa City’s annual indie craft-acular What a Load of Craft (Dec. 14) and at bustleworshipdesigns.com.
Photography and Words by Dawn Frary. Styling by Paige Harwell. Models: Lindsay Chastain and Emily Mueller
Frary is an Iowa City photographer whose life revolves around cats, cameras and coffee. She will never pass up the opportunity to spend a day in the woods, especially if that day involves awesome people and skulls. Visit her at dawnfrary.com.
