University of Chester students to launch upcycled charity collection

Fashion Design and Photography students at the University of Chester, UK, are reworking old clothing donated to charity shops into a new, sustainable collection.

The new upcycled collection, entitled ‘Make, Mend and Sustain’, created by the university’s Fashion Design students, was captured by photography students from the same institution.

The physical collection is currently being showcased at charity shops Save the Children shop and ShareShop in Chester, UK.

For the collection, students focused on designing a range of mens and womenswear clothing, while including a few gender-neutral pieces. Moreover, they took part in various photoshoots held during the SHARE Aid depot at the ‘Mold and the Save the Children’ shop in Chester to raise awareness on where the clothing came from.

In addition, the pictures of the project will be showcased on the external walls of the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, in partnership with Save the Children and SHARE (Supporting Homeless, Assisting Refugees Everywhere) Aid as part of the LOOK Photo Biennial 2022: Climate festival that is currently taking place across North West England.

Students have also documented the creative process in a video which is to be shown at the digital screen of the Open Eye Gallery.

Educator Delphine Wilson, programme leader for the Bachelor in Fashion Design at the University of Chester coordinated and guided the students during the project together with Dr. Cian Quayle, the programme leader for the Bachelor in Photography. The two educators also received assistance from visiting lecturers Jen John (Fashion) and AJ Wilkinson (Photography).

Dr Cian Quayle said in a release: “We hope to curate another exhibition of this work later in the year at CASC (Contemporary Art Space Chester) or the University’s Kingsway site to further showcase the hard work of the students and the Make, Mend and Sustain message.”

The Make, Mend and Sustain collection designs from the Fashion Design students of the University of Chester will be on display at Save the Children and ShareShop in Chester until August 5.

The participating Bachelor in Fashion Design students are Louise Morgan, Rebecca Porter, Kerrigan Collins, Katriona Heritage, Saviour Jaffier, Natasha Rowland; Jessica Rimmer, Sophie Pomfrey, Diane Maccabe, and Annie Dinis.