Finalists: Extending the Life of Clothes Design Award
12th March 2015
The SCAP ELC Award challenged designers to address the key reasons for garment failure and the concepts needed to achieve solutions to longer lasting clothes, as well as deliver ideas that are fashionable and saleable.
Four finalists:
Rhiannon Hunt - winner
Valerie Goode - special commendation
Gayle Atkins
Nicholas Fellows
Rhiannon Hunt
** Award winner 2015 **
From: Chelsea College of Art and Design (Graduated 2014)
Take a look at Rhiannon’s Designs
Take a look at Rhiannon’s Statement
Describe your submission in three words
Interactive Adaptable Creative
Why did you enter?
Sustainability always plays a significant role in my work as a designer so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take on a new challenge, tackling textile waste and the notion of ‘fast fashion’
What inspires you?
My submission for the ELC Award was inspired by the art of origami, architecture and the built environment, but living in London I tend to find something new and inspiring everyday.
What do you see as the biggest challenge in sustainable fashion?
Changing people's perception of ‘sustainable fashion’ is one of the key challenges to seeing it become the norm. Many people have pre-conceived ideas about the look, feel and cost of sustainable clothing, but with technological advancements in materials science, the possibilities really are endless.
Who would you like to see wearing your designs/collection?
Anyone and everyone. The more people wearing sustainable fashion built to last, the less the impact on the environment.
What do you think you’ll be doing in 2020?
Developing creative solutions to sustainability issues.
Valerie Goode
** Special commendation **
From: Kitty Ferreira Ltd
Take a look at Valerie’s Designs
Take a look at Valerie’s Statement
Describe your submission in three words
Sustainably Sophisticated Womenswear
Why did you enter?
The SCAP award would allow us to take all the research conducted for a training programme for disadvantaged youths to offer a made-to-measure service for city professional women and make it all happen.
What inspires you?
My late grandmother is the real source of inspiration behind the brand, taking references from her naturally sustainable lifestyle, a lifestyle that my parents had brought with them when they emigrated to the UK.
What do you see as the biggest challenge in sustainable fashion?
Trying to dispel the hippy connotations, sustainable fashion usually conjures and we do this by juxtaposing sustainable methods into city chic designs. We make sustainable fashion sophisticated and wearable across multiple purposes and most of all accessible.
Who would you like to see wearing your designs/collection?
From Sienna Miller to Baroness Valerie Amos, Emilie Sande to Michelle Obama.
What do you think you’ll be doing in 2020?
To have developed the training programme for young people into franchising opportunities by way of creating more UK jobs and allowing the young as well as older experienced pattern cutters and seamstresses to bridge the generation gap in skill shortages within the textile industry.
Gayle Atkins
From: Northbrook College Sussex / Marbella Design Academy
Take a look at Gayle’s Designs
Take a look at Gayle’s Statement
Describe your submission in three words
Simple Effective Design
Why did you enter?
I saw the competition and thought my design was perfect for the criteria. My project is based on the longevity of garments in an effort to prolong their life and encourage sustainability.
What inspires you?
I enjoy wandering around crumbling old cities and looking at the architecture. My colour scheme for the project was inspired by old derelict buildings and peeling paintwork in Cuba. I find beauty in old rather than new.
What do you see as the biggest challenge in sustainable fashion?
Encouraging a high volume of people to make small changes in the way they purchase and dispose of their clothes. People can make a difference just by choosing to buy locally or revive tired garments.
Who would you like to see wearing your designs/collection?
Anyone who appreciates the clever twist of the dual purpose garment. It is designed to appeal to a wide cross-section but mainly young professionals. Alexa Chung would look cool in one! I like her vintage style.
What do you think you’ll be doing in 2020?
To have the brand stocked in established retail outlets such as Libertys and Anthropologie and grow my online business. I will continue my work in sustainable fashion education, encourageyoung people to design responsibly and look after the next generation.
Nicholas Fellows
From: London College of Fashion
Take a look at Nicholas’ Designs
Take a look at Nicholas’ Statement
Describe your submission in three words
Dissolving size restrictions
Why did you enter?
I entered because I had an ambitious idea which I believed could be not only a viable business but a great improvement to sustainability in the Childrenswear Fashion industry.
What inspires you?
I find inspiration in science, history and art. I am fascinated by problem solving , stories and creativity. I'm not afraid to make continuous mistakes until failed attempts develop into real inspiration.
What do you see as the biggest challenge in sustainable fashion?
The biggest challenge is to step away from making sustainable fashion an option and create sustainable fashion that is essential. Sustainable fashion is seen as an unfashionable concept.
Who would you like to see wearing your designs/collection?
My designs are for children to love and live in, for much longer then they could in other clothing . I would like to narrow the gender stereotypes in children's wear design to encourage "nonconformity" at a young age.
What do you think you’ll be doing in 2020?
By 2020 I would like to have my designs in stores and ready to transform the way we view the lifespan of clothes.