Forty Crates, a broken Bus and a Trailer

About an hour after crossing the German border, white smoke started pouring out of the engine.

A blown head gasket. Day one. After months of preparing the bus, loading Batch 2 in crates and mapping out our Follow the Water Tour route across Europe, we couldn’t believe it. Suddenly, all plans came to a stop.

Or at least, the bus did. Dad showed up (shout out Herrie!) and hooked up his camper to a five-meter trailer. We transferred everything in the middle of the night, and carried on. It wasn't Plan A. But then again, neither is working with deadstock.

When we started One of XX, "work with what already exists" referred to fabric. Instead of designing a collection and ordering new materials, we begin our design process with whatever materials already exist. Every colour, every edition size, and every collection starts there. Somewhere along this journey, we realised that philosophy applies to much more than clothing. Turns out, the way forward is to keep going.

Looking back, sleeping in the trailer for three weeks wasn't a setback after all. It was just working with what we had. And that's exactly the mindset that’s driving One of XX.

Building consciously means working with what's available.

Showing up in person

Pop-up @ prague, milano, zürich

Some things just happen because you're there. We walked into Green Tunnel Milano with no appointment and started talking. The next day, we were organising a pop-up together. Buyers receive hundreds of emails every week. Showing up with the garments in your hands creates a completely different conversation.

At RRRevolve in Zürich, we spent time with the team explaining where every fabric came from, why every edition is different, and how every garment is individually numbered. We don't just want our partner stores to stock One of XX. We want them to love and understand the value of what they're holding.

Prague embraced Batch 02

After our pop-up at Freshlabels Sustainability Store, we explored the city with a group of friends.

VIEW PRAGUE PHOTO STORY

Like deadstock, roadtrips don't follow a production schedule.

The tour continues

Next week, our bus is getting her final manicure. New stickers, then we’re back on the road.

Building One of XX has never been about taking the fastest route. It's about meeting people, finding stores that believe in what we're building, and adapting when things don't go according to plan.

More of what we've been up to