A designer is among students who are aiming to make a difference with a charity shop fashion collection.
Louise Morgan from Wrexham is one of the students from the University of Chester Fashion Design and Photography who have developed and documented the collection.
It is made with charity shop donations and used textiles, in partnership with Save the Children and SHARE (Supporting Homeless, Assisting Refugees Everywhere) Aid. The project has been co-devised in collaboration with the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool.
The work is currently on display at the Save the Children shop and ShareShop in Chester City Centre, with students’ fashion photography of the designs featured on the external walls of the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool. The digital screen video at the Gallery is also due to spotlight the journey of the project from inception to its results.
The exhibitions are part of LOOK Photo Biennial 2022: Climate festival which is taking place across venues in the Northwest and is supported by The Philip Barker Centre for Creative Learning.
The students have designed a range of men’s and womenswear clothing as well as gender-neutral pieces. They also took part in photo shoots at the SHARE Aid depot in Mold and the Save the Children Chester shop to show where the clothing originally came from.
The Fashion Design students involved are: Louise Morgan; Rebecca Porter; Kerrigan Collins, Katriona Heritage; Saviour Jaffier; Natasha Rowland; Jessica Rimmer; Sophie Pomfrey; Diane Maccabe and Annie Dinis.
The Photography students who captured the striking images are: Simon Hyde; Emily Johnson; Annabel Carter and Charlie Harris.
Louise Morgan said: “Having the opportunity to work with Open Eye, SHARE Aid and Save the Children was amazing. As well as helping to promote sustainability, it was incredible to see the work that the charities are doing for local communities. I think my favourite piece I made for this was the corset top and the landfill skirt. The whole experience was fantastic, especially working with everyone involved.”
Delphine Wilson, programme leader for BA (Hons) Fashion Design said: “We’re thrilled to be part of this exciting collaboration highlighting how creativity and transformation can give new life and worth to second-hand clothes and offer more sustainable ways of living.
“The students have really enjoyed sharing their skills and have benefitted immensely from working with each other and all the partners, learning more about sustainability, the work of the charities, Open Eye and the fashion and photography industries.”
Dr Cian Quayle, associate professor and programme leader for BA (Hons) Photography added: “We have worked with the Open Eye Gallery for many years and we didn’t hesitate to take part when they brought this project to us in conjunction with their work with Slum Studio in Ghana, and as part of the Look Photography Biennial: Climate festival.
“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.”
Work from the Make, Mend and Sustain collection is on display at Save the Children, 9 Grosvenor St, Chester, CH1 2DD and ShareShop, 50 Northgate St, Chester, CH1 2HA, until August 5.
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