Fashion students’ sustainable catwalk looks champion a greener future to packed audience

Impressed guests watched as dozens of upcycled garments were paraded on the catwalk at the Havant and South Downs College Havant campus theatre for the college’s sustainable fashion show.

Textiles A Level students at HSDC Havant and fashion design and clothing construction

Level 3 students at the South Downs Campus then took to the stage with their creations last week.

Ruth Lacey, a lecturer at the college, said: ‘The event provided a great opportunity for our students to showcase their creativity with an important sustainability element.

‘We collaborated with the fashion course at South Downs, uniting these specialist courses’.

Fabric and clothing was donated by the FatFace Foundation for students to transform into eco-friendly new outfits for the show, which took place as part of the Havant Borough Big Green Week.

Three members of staff from FatFace head office visited HSDC to talk to the students about the ideas behind the brand’s sustainable ethos and sourcing processes.

On the night of the fashion show, guests enjoyed talks from Havant Climate Alliance - which organised the environmental events throughout the Big Green Week - as well as the FatFace Foundation and Noorin Khamisani from the fashion and Textiles course at the

University of Portsmouth.

Second-year student Kurtis Griggs showed off his outfit which was inspired by the sea, sun and sky.

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He said: ‘My outfit design has been driven as much about deconstruction as construction.

‘I wanted to show a cyclical life to my garment, so the purposes of sustainability and repurposing are clear and true to the influences of Green Week and our fashion show.

‘I think that sustainability as a whole is something worth being mindful of.

‘Our impact to our world and our society can all be traced down to the things we do.

‘This includes our clothes - wearing clothes that best consider their impact is the best way forward to making a change.’

Staff from FatFace are in the process of choosing a select few designs from the show, and winning students will have a week’s work experience at the company’s head office as a prize.