Young designers accelerate eco-friendly fashion

Youth may be wasted on the young (as the saying goes) but it’s the young designers and ‘Green Grads’ actively reducing waste, who will fast forward sustainable fashion.

With London Fashion Week only weeks behind us, eyes will be peeled for the young designers incorporating “green” materials and sustainable processes into the creation of next season’s clothes.

Sustainability is more than a trend

Whilst trends come and go, sustainability is sticking around, because both businesses and buyers want the hottest clothes, without Earth getting hotter. Luckily for us, innovations in textiles are enabling eco-conscious brands to bring sensational new styles to the runways this Spring.

Someone who already knows a lot about sustainable fashion is Sarah Thorley, who recently graduated from the University of Bolton and won the Eco Stories Gold Award for Green Grads in 2022.

Green Grads was founded by multi-award-winning design journalist Barbara Chandler, who has written about design for over 25 years at the London Evening Standard. Barbara and her team are on a mission to support new graduates and the environment at the same time. Their last two shows in 2021 and 2022 each attracted over 2,000 visitors over a single weekend and were also shown at prestigious events like grand designs live and the great northern contemporary craft fair.

Michael Czerwinski, co-director of Green Grads, said:

“Our vision is to fuel UK environmental action with new talent from our universities, through shows, pop-ups, Salons, film, this website, and more.”

For the 2022 competition, Green Grads challenged Art Schools across the UK to design patterns that reflect their environmental concerns and/or love of the natural world. And to consider eco-friendly textiles, dyes, and methods of production.

Sarah studied on Bolton Uni’s Textiles and Surface Design programme, gaining the skills to accelerate her career in fashion, evidenced by the fact she’s already won awards for her green designs.

Sarah’s winning work included a series of botanical prints and upcycled chairs she had rescued from charity shops. Inspired by Biddulph Grange Gardens - a National Trust Property in Staffordshire - Sarah achieved her ambition to “celebrate conservation and highlight the beauty of nature”.

By using recycled paper to create her designs, which were then printed on natural linen, Sarah wowed the Green Grads panel with a collection of artwork that proves beauty doesn’t have to cost the Earth.

Sarah also took home the 2022 Masterpiece Prize at the Inspiring Designers of Tomorrow Today (IDOTT) show. Her work was based on the creations from The Potteries in Stoke-On-Trent.

Green Grads’ mission is well aligned with the University of Bolton’s commitment to supporting students and Alumni to grow their awareness of climate issues, begin to take responsibility for their own carbon footprint, and positively influence others in their lives and their careers.

Textiles and Surface Design is one of ten courses offered by the University of Bolton’s School of the Arts and Creative Technologies, alongside degrees in Fashion and Fashion Photography. Students who haven’t yet built up enough UCAS points to jump straight into a degree can complete a foundation year in Bolton’s friendly and inclusive environment.

At Bolton, a BA in Fashion will provide you with the opportunity to explore and critically apply concepts, theories, and practice, developing your appreciation of the aesthetic, social, moral, ethical, legal, environmental, and economic contexts associated with fashion.

What’s driving eco-friendly fashion?

There are three main reasons why you’re likely to see more sustainable shows at LFW, and across the fashion industry in general: consumer choice, supply chain issues, and government targets.

Consumer choice

People of all generations are becoming increasingly climate-conscious in their everyday lives. For a growing number of Brits, their efforts to protect planet Earth now go far beyond basic household recycling. Pre-loved garments are growing in popularity as shoppers begin to understand more about the production of new garments and the resources used to manufacture them.

Fashion buyers want honesty, and brands will miss out on sales if they don’t provide customers with information about their sustainable and ethical practices. The good news is; thanks to the University of Bolton, these priorities will already be ingrained in the designers and makers of the future.

Describing their BA (Hons) Fashion course, Bolton uni explained that:

“self-expression is balanced with the need to understand commercial design and manufacturing processes, and an awareness of key critical issues affecting the industry.”

Supply chains

In the past, fashion has been a largely unregulated industry, because many manufacturers and suppliers are part of complex supply chains that cross multiple continents. But regulations are coming, and clothing creators now appreciate the need to be able to trace where their fabrics have come from, as well as understand the social and environmental impact of producing their products in developing countries.

Designers and makers all over the world have been affected by the current rise in energy prices, the increased cost of many raw materials, and supply chain disruption caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As a result, we’re likely to see an increase in designers like Bolton Alumna Sarah, who make the most of the materials available to them locally.

In the fashion industry, brands now see that by taking their environmental, social, and ethical responsibilities seriously, their business can become more efficient. Sustainable practices have therefore become a “must-have” item for every fashion brand and designer who wants to keep up with the competition.

Government targets

In 2022 the fashion industry appeared to suddenly ‘wake up’ to the urgent need to develop cleaner, greener ways of working and reduce the environmental footprint it creates. This was reinforced by the Paris Agreement’s aim to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius.

Brands began making commitments to improve their environmental and social responsibility in response to rumours of new legislation, which could come into effect in 2023.

In the USA, the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, known as the Fashion Act, which was introduced in January 2022 and updated in November, could see New York become the first state to hold fashion brands accountable for their environmental and social impacts.

Sustainability is at the heart of everything the University of Bolton strives to achieve, so students studying Arts and Creative Technologies are actively taught about sustainable supply chains and consumer choices, as well as the latest government targets that fashion companies will be expected to meet as Britain seeks to play our part in addressing the climate crisis.

Fashion from recycled materials

Like every other sector, the fashion industry cannot escape the mounting pressure to reduce emissions and help fight climate change. Thanks to pioneering designers like Ganni, the clothing industry is now making progress towards lessening the harm done to our planet by the ‘fast fashion’ of previous years, and the idea that truly great design is impossible when using sustainable fabrics and materials has been disproved.

Ganni is the brand behind VEGEA™, an innovative material containing plant-based, renewable, and recycled raw materials, including grape leftovers from winemaking, vegetable oils, and natural fibres from agriculture. Ganni has also revealed a T-shirt made from Infinna™, a 100% recycled fibre made from textile waste.

Based in Copenhagen, Ganni confirmed 97% of the Spring-Summer 2023 collection was “responsible”, with 50% of the composition of its garments certified as organic, low impact, or recycled.

Going around in circles

One of the major issues the fashion industry needs to tackle is the amount of textile waste. It’s estimated that 92 million tonnes of textiles are dumped each year across the world.

Extended Producer Responsibility legislation already applies in countries like France and Sweden. More countries are expected to follow suit in 2023 and hold their homegrown fashion brands accountable for the true cost of their collections, including the sorting and recycling of textiles.

At September’s London Fashion Week, Daniel W Fletcher exhibited a collection made entirely from “dead” stock which might otherwise have been destined for landfill. Daniel worked with a startup business called Nona Source, which provides young designers with unused materials from the LVMH group, to create more possibilities for sustainability to play a part in haute couture.

Daniel studied at Central Saint Martins, was named GQ magazine’s 2020 breakthrough designer, and was on Drapers’ 30 Under 30 list in 2018.

In March 2020, at the start of the first UK lockdown, Daniel was faced with a choice: to use cheap, unsustainable fabrics or to look carefully at what he already had - scraps of fabric left over from previous creations - and reuse them. He did the right thing, and the results have transformed industry opinions about patchwork.

LFW ‘23 is hybrid

Brands and designers will show their Autumn-Winter collections for 2024 at London Fashion Week LFW, which begins on Friday 17 February 2023. Retail buyers will view the collections and decide which pieces to order, giving designers just enough time to manufacture the garments.

Fashion editors will use LFW to select the outfits they want to request samples of, and will begin planning photoshoots to inform readers about the trends we’re about to see in stores.

The British Fashion Council released the physical and digital schedule for London’s upcoming Fashion Week from 17 – 21 February. Designers will showcase their creations in menswear, womenswear, and accessories, on catwalks and on-screen, in a combination of physical and digital events.

Who to look out for

The digital shows will include womenswear and menswear from DiscoveryLAB, London College of Fashion, and Sinéad O'Dwyer, an Irish designer who graduated in 2018. Sinéad’s work accommodates non-sample-size bodies, challenges industry beauty standards and has been described as “creating truly inclusive fashion”.

Alongside the official LFW events, students looking for inspiration can explore popups in and around London.

Netherlands-based designer Eva Dekker is the creator behind Studio Eva D - a brand she started just a year after finishing her art course. Eva’s approach to creating garments that are both sustainable and wearable is to ensure they can be worn time and time again. By taking care to make clothing that lasts for more than just a few seasons – inlcuding items made from fabrics that have been hand-woven in her own studio - Eva is reducing the impact that she and her buyers have on the environment.

Speaking to Fashion United, Eva said:

“I make clothes to cherish, and which are designed to last for years. With the world still adjusting to life after Covid, my way of working is more relevant than ever.”

Similar to Sinead, Eva Dekker has created a collection to suit all shapes and sizes, suggesting that diversity and sustainability are becoming best friends.

Studio EVA D.’s winter collection 23/24 will be officially presented during the upcoming London Fashion Week in February. At the invitation of the London creative agency Touch LDN, Studio EVA D. is one of the international labels presenting itself in a pop-up showroom in Shoreditch, at 81 Redchurch Street.

They were young once

Part of the 2023 shows will be a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the British Fashion Council’s (BFC) NEWGEN initiative - the world’s most established designer development scheme. The celebration will begin three decades after a group of designers, including the late Lee Alexander McQueen, showcased their collections at London Fashion Week in 1993.

According to the BFC, the 30th anniversary celebration will:

“provide an opportunity for the creative community to come together to celebrate and acknowledge the scheme’s illustrious history and alumni, and London’s legacy in nurturing emerging talent and the next generation of visionary creatives.”

Hopefully, it won’t be long before all fashion brands will be forced to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, and the amount of energy, water, and materials (including plastics) used to manufacture clothes. Retailers and shoppers will then be able to make their own informed choices about who to buy from.

While we wait, nurturing the next generation of creatives to be both great and green is a top priority. The University of Bolton has a clear goal: to develop creativity and critical talents so that students graduate fully equipped to make their mark on the world - a mark that leaves the world better than they found it.

Learn More: University of Bolton