Students Piece Together New Clothes In Sustainability Project

tudents gained a huge seal of approval after designing new items of clothing using recycled materials.

Art and Design BTEC Foundation Diploma and Level 3 Extended Diploma students at South Cheshire College took part in the ‘Deconstruction’ competition which put their design and fashion skills to the test.

Their task was to use existing garments and other recycled materials to create a new, innovative and unique clothing garment.

The project is one of a number of current initiatives to promote sustainable development within the College and wider community.

It also encouraged students to focus on the benefits of re-using materials and fabrics that are often thrown away.

The two winners of the competition were Charlotte Outhwaite and Camilla Dovey while the work of Leozenha Soares and Rebecca Cooper was highly commended.

Other students who had their work selected for display included Holly Pegg, Dominika Luckova, Emma Weaver and Jessica Hutchinson.

Helene Lander, Lecturer in Fashion and Visual Arts at South Cheshire College, believes the students all excelled during the project.

Helene said: “The students all produced fantastic garments and the competition stretched their imagination and took their skills to a new level.

"The group all enjoyed taking part in the project and it gave them the chance to re-use and work with different materials."

The two winners of the competition each received Amazon vouchers as a prize which were presented to them by Suzanne Wainwright, the College’s Vice Principal for Skills, HE and Business Development.

Camilla Dovey, 17, of Nantwich, said: “This was a really exciting project and I’m pleased to have won a prize.

"I want to study fashion at university so this has given me the opportunity to learn new skills and work with and re-use new materials."

Charlotte Outhwaite, 17, of Weston, added: “I’m very pleased to have won and it was a lot of fun to be able to put clothing together using materials I’ve not worked with before."

The College has staged and supported a number of sustainable development initiatives including Walk to Work Week, Bike Week and Climate Week which encourage staff and students to live and work more sustainably.