A designer has gone viral with a stunning jacket lined with clothes that used to belong to his client’s late mom so she could “always be close to him.”
Mason Wagner, 25, from Racine, Wisconsin, started his clothing design company GoodNatured as a creative outlet, after seeing hundreds of pounds of used cloth on Facebook Marketplace.
Right from the first idea he had – creating a jacket out of old painters’ drop cloths – his designs have gone viral, prompting hundreds of unique requests.
One request came from Eric, whose mom had recently passed away, and he had a collection of her clothing that meant a lot to him.
Eric asked Mason if he could turn his mom’s clothes into something he could wear, to keep her close.
Mason admitted he initially wasn’t sure what to create, so spoke to his grandmother, a lifelong quilter, and came up with an idea to piece the garments together to line the inside of a jacket.
The process was more difficult than Mason thought, as the different weights and textures of the clothes meant he spent around 10 hours trying to make the lining work.
Knowing Eric’s mom’s love of the ocean, he used a material for the jacket itself evoking water.
Eric was incredibly happy with the way the jacket turned out and regularly wears it out around town.
Mason said: “This project felt very different from anything I had done before.
“These weren’t just materials, they were irreplaceable pieces of someone’s life, so there was a real sense of responsibility in getting it right.
“When I heard back from Eric and his family, it was hard to put into words what that felt like.
“What started as a hobby for me had become something that could help someone hold onto their memories in a new way.
“It made me realize that this work is about much more than clothing.
“I hope the story encourages people to look at clothing a little differently.
“So many of the items we hold onto carry real meaning, but they often end up tucked away because we don’t know what to do with them.
“If this work can help people bring those pieces back into their lives in a new way, and keep those stories present instead of hidden, that’s what matters most to me.”
Eric added: “Mason did a remarkable job honoring my mom’s memory and telling her story.
“There are so many different textures on the inside of it because of so many different items of clothing that are like different memories of her – it feels like I have her close to me.
“I’m going to wear it a lot. I like to travel with my wife and my family, so it will be nice to be able to carry her with me as I travel and see the world.
“Someone commented on one of the posts that her clothing is on the inside so it’s like she’s giving me a hug, which I hadn’t even thought of until that person said that.
“I will definitely be wearing it as much as I can and as many places as I can and I’ll be happy to tell the story to anyone who catches a glimpse of the inside.”
