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Fashion students cotton on to upcycling trend

17/05/2016

Fashion students cotton on to upcycling trend

Fashion and Textiles students at the University of Wolverhampton have cottoned on to the upcycling trend by using unwanted shirts to create new outfits.

First year students from the School of Creative Arts and Design used old shirts which had been donated to the Compton Hospice to create new clothes from the material, buttons, cuffs and collars.

First Year Fashion & Textiles students get into upcycling of shirts        First Year Fashion & Textiles students upcycle old men's shirts

Jo Bloodworth, Lecturer in Fashion & Textiles, said: “At the University of Wolverhampton, the Fashion & Textiles Degree course focuses the next generation of creative designers to learn about the impact they will have in the future and students are challenged to think about how they can instigate change by encouraging sustainability to be at the heart of everything they do. Our aim is to create a whole new generation of young people who can create, design and build brands ethically.”

Sharon Watts, School of Creative Arts and Design, said:  “There are so many things to take into consideration when studying for a degree in Fashion & Textiles.  We want students to look further afield than the catwalk and the design of clothes. We want them to think about how the fashion and textiles industry can make a valid and valuable contribution to sustainability as well as long-term socio-economic and technology issues.

“It’s not just about what we’re wearing and what we will be wearing in the future – it’s looking at the impact this will have on society.”

Becky Bayliss, a student on the course, said: “I’d never upcycled before and it’s certainly challenging trying to create an outfit out of old shirts when you encounter different textiles, fabrics and differing weights.  But the exercise has taught us that, with a little bit of imagination, there is no shelf-life on clothes.”

Find out more about student recycling projects: http://www.wlv.ac.uk/about-us/news-and-events/latest-news/2016/april-2016/the-future-of-fashion--is-the-industry-cutting-its-cloth-to-suit.php

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