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‘Will Tents make a trend?’ Student makes clothing out of leftover tents

A fashion student created a gender-neutral dress out of tent fabric to promote sustainability and inclusiveness in fashion.

    Grace.jpg
    Grace Reeves (in blue) with models wearing her garments
    Picture credit: Pushpita Chatterjee

    ‘Will Tents make a trend?’ Student makes clothing out of leftover tents

    A fashion student created a gender-neutral dress out of tent fabric to promote sustainability and inclusiveness in fashion, writes journalism student Jyothsna Nelloolichalil.

    Grace Reeves, 22, who is a final year Fashion Design student at Nottingham Trent University, was motivated to build the piece when she witnessed a massive number of tents being left over after a festival.

    With an intent to promote ‘inclusiveness’ in fashion, Grace has tried to create the clothing to fit every size, calling it size U or Universal.

    Also, the undergraduate, who is from Lincolnshire, has designed her branding in braille.

    She said: ‘’I want to change people's perception of second-hand items by creating something technical and different.

    “During my internship, it was sad to hear women complain that many clothes wouldn’t fit them due to their body size.

    “It’s a shame that people don’t learn textile crafts in school and that’s the reason they throw away clothes because they don’t know how to fix them.

    “One of my goals is to make sustainable clothing more affordable.

    Grace 2.jpg
    Picture credit: Pushpita Chatterjee

    “It makes me really happy that my clothes can fit anyone, regardless of their size or gender.”

    Grace’s clothing is detachable, so that it could be transformed from a high-end fashion clothing to a normal jacket.

    She continued: “The detachable elements give you more freedom.

    “My concept is that life is a game, you can go to a party and later decide to climb a mountain in the same clothes. I really like versatility.”

    Being a vegetarian and by limiting the usage of plastic in her art and life, Grace claims to have made sustainability a part of her life.

    She is intent to set up her own upcycling business after her studies, with a focus on green design and minimal usage of virgin materials.

    Her work featured in Nottingham Trent University’s art and design Student Showcase which involved graduating artists and designers displaying their work as part of a public exhibition.

    Emma Prince, Fashion Design course leader at Nottingham Trent university, said: “The design community is increasingly keen on making designs kinder to the planet.

    “It is great how Grace includes a personal touch in her upcycling from waste textiles and highlights the importance of inclusivity within her practice.”

    • Notes for editors

      Press enquiries please contact Chris Birkle, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 2310, or via email.

      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) received the Queens Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2021 for cultural heritage science research. It is the second time that NTU has been bestowed the honour of receiving a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its research, the first being in 2015 for leading-edge research on the safety and security of global citizens.

      The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. 86% of NTU’s research impact was assessed to be either world-leading or internationally excellent.

      NTU was awarded Outstanding Support for Students 2020 (Times Higher Education Awards). It was the University of the Year 2019 (Guardian University Awards, UK Social Mobility Awards), Modern University of the Year 2018 (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide) and University of the Year 2017 (Times Higher Education Awards).

      NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with over 33,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across five campuses. It has an international student population of 4,000 and an NTU community representing around 160 countries.

      In the past 15 years, NTU has invested £450 million in tools, technology and facilities.

      NTU is in the UK’s top 10 for number of applications and ranked first for accepted offers (2019 UCAS UG acceptance data) It is also among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

      75% of NTU students go on to graduate-level employment or graduate-entry education / training within fifteen months of graduating (Guardian University Guide 2021).

      NTU is 4th globally (and 3rd in the UK) for sustainability in the 2021 UI Green Metric University World Rankings (out of more than 900 participating universities).

    Published on 7 June 2022
    • Category: Press office; School of Art & Design