Fashion Collection 'Repurpose' 2019

‘Repurpose’ is a fashion design project with a reimagined mode of avant-garde, sustainable aesthetic that aims to extend the life of textile products using modern craftsmanship and technology. To encourage the circular economy that identifies and addresses issues around excessive consumption and waste problems, I have up-cycled festival wastes into a 5-looks high-end collection. At music festivals in UK, approximately 23,500 tonnes of waste is produced annually, including 250,000 abandoned tents. Because most of the tents are made up of plastic, 68% goes to landfills. With a support of Festival Republic and Reading Festival Salvage team, I have collected tents, sleeping bags, air mattresses and camping chairs that were to be deconstructed and reconstructed. The collection highlights the illusion that fashion and festivals create whereby they are carefree and clean. However, behind the façade they are propped up by a dirty world of waste and unsustainable practices. While exploring playful colour and glamorous shapes, I have successfully shown that sustainable fashion can be imaginative, inspiring and innovative.