Greg Poschman/Courtesy photo
Killeen Brettman is combating overconsumption, one designer piece at a time.
With her newly founded company Deja Nu, Brettmann is upcycling brands that include Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and more, transforming them into vests and jackets that blend the luxury Aspen lifestyle with a newfound sustainability.
“In thinking about Aspen being such a luxury market, I thought how can we combine upcycling and luxury?” she asked. “This is a trend that all consumers at all levels are beginning to lean into.”
She has a deep history in Aspen — she spent a decade in marketing with Aspen Skiing Company, launched FIJI Water from town as the head of its marketing, and spent the last 10 years as the managing director for the Aspen Ideas Festival at The Aspen Institute. Her husband was a ski patroller who was killed in an avalanche in 2008, survived by Brettmann and their two daughters, who were born at the Aspen Valley Hospital and graduated from Aspen High School.
“When I left the Institute last year, I was really trying to think about what I want to do in this stage in my career,” Brettmann said. “My kids are super thrifters, and over the last few years, I’ve been thinking about how to combat overconsumption in my own life … I’d love to find a business opportunity that could combine those ideas.”
According to Brettmann, the secondhand clothing market is growing two to three times faster than the firsthand market. The ThredUp 2025 Resale Report, generated by one of the largest online resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories, showed that the global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach $367 billion by 2029, with the U.S. secondhand apparel market expected to reach $74 billion by that same year.
“There’s just amazing goods and products here,” she said of Aspen. “The challenge is how do we connect the people who are passing these things on to the people who want them. That has always been the challenge in the upcycling world.”
She and her daughters collaborated on the idea for the Deja Nu brand together, and she takes their fashion sensibility into consideration with every piece.
“It’s fun connecting the generational differences in the work,” Brettmann said.
One of her daughters, Eryn, is currently studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
“I love being a part of it,” Eryn said of working with her mom at Deja Nu. “It’s been really nice to have something we can do together.”
Eryn has also been modeling the vests and jackets, and she said walking around town in Aspen has been a great source of advertising.
“There have been times people will stop me on the street and tell me how much they love the vest,” she said. “I love that people are excited about it.”
All the clothes are 100% produced locally, Brettmann confirmed. While she initially didn’t know much about sewing, she enrolled into a basic sewing class with Colorado Mountain College’s Outdoor Soft Goods Programs. There, she met a number of different women who ultimately became part of the Deja Nu team — they work out of the surrounding area including Eagle, Rifle, Carbondale, and Snowmass Village.
One of those women is Janette Adrian, founder of Tumbleseed LLC, based out of Eagle, Colorado. She told The Aspen Times that she’s been honing design and craftsmanship skills for a couple decades, which pairs perfectly with Brettmann’s expertise of connecting production to the people.
“I enjoy using vintage and making one of a kind pieces,” Adrian said. “Reimagining and pivoting based on what is available is a strong suit of mine. It takes time to converse with the materials and it’s fun to see what pops out in the scarves and transform these vests and jackets. I love working with fine materials and artistry.”
Brettmann noted that for anybody interested in upcycling, CMC offers a variety of courses that are starting in early January.
There are 150 pieces in the recently launched collection, with everything available online at dejanuaspen.com and shipping across the country. Deja Nu also offers local delivery from Aspen to Carbondale. Cashmere vests are available at Nuages, and the denim trucker jackets are available at 419 Aspen.
“People are super excited,” Brettmann said. “I think they love the concept, they love that it’s upcycled. The response has been really great. Right now, we’re thinking about different ideas for summer.”
