Nottinghamshire hospice have teamed up with Nottingham Trent University (NTU) to help students restyle items of clothing for sale through their charity shops.
The competition allows 25 students to repurpose, restyle and reconstruct an outfit using clothing and accessories bought at Nottinghamshire Hospice’s Mapperly, West Bridgford and Sherwood stores.
The first 15 students to apply to the competition were given a £20 voucher to spend, with a further ten students being given 10% off their desired items.
Felicity Walker, senior lecturer in Fashion Management at NTU, said: “It’s great to be working with a local community-based charity on this project.”
“At the University, sustainability is embedded in our teaching, it’s an area we’re passionate about and one we’re proud to be taking a stand on.”
“The industry has acknowledged we can’t carry on as we are and are asking for innovative ways of making fashion sustainable and ethical,” she added.
“This is an opportunity for our students to lead the way, to show that there are alternatives to fast fashion and are other ways to shop.”
Community fundraiser Rebecca Taylor, herself a business fashion graduate, is leading the project.
She said: “It’s great that we’re engaging with fashion students and reshaping attitudes towards charity retail.
“Re-styling preloved clothing and accessories is a creative and innovative way to save money, save the planet and create a great, original look.”
The winner of the competition will be announced in March after entries are submitted on Instagram, with the hashtag #prelovedstylenotts.
Currently there are plans for Nottinghamshire Hopsice to continue working with the University in a series of follow-up events including a pop-up fashion show and a ‘make and mend’ workshop.
By Faith Pring
All images credit: Nottinghamshire Hospice