Knitwear students team up with Celtic & Co. for garment repurposing project
Natural sustainable fashion brand Celtic & Co. and British knitwear supplier Robert Todd have collaborated on a garment repurposing project with students of BA Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles.
The live project explored sustainable solutions for reject garments. Students had to design a women’s knitwear collection using a selection of Celtic & Co. garments provided by Robert Todd as the basis of designing and manufacturing their collections.
Head of Product at Celtic & Co., Katy Burnett, said: “We’re always keen to get involved in new sustainability initiatives, so when we were approached about this collaboration, we thought it was a great way to support emerging talent whilst also having a perfect link to our circular fashion principles.
“It’s been a really exciting and successful project which we are planning on running again next year as part of the university’s knitwear course. Well done to all the students who got involved, there were some very impressive designs and we thoroughly enjoyed looking through the presentations.”
Design Manager at Robert Rodd, Angela Wood, said: “The main aim of this project was to raise awareness of waste within the textile industry and how we could encourage sustainable practices. We found it incredibly inspiring to see how engaged and enthusiastic the students were. We felt they approached it with creativity and great energy. It has been very rewarding for us to impart our knowledge of the industry with this live project and hopefully inspire the next generation of designers.”
The presentations were judged by product teams at both Robert Todd and Celtic & Co. They chose a top three, with Yang Xixi as overall winner, followed by George Light and Emma Gillie. A high commendation also went to Catherine Brodie.
Yang Xixi’s winning project was titled ‘Into the blue embrace the joy’. Her designs focused on a mix of cable knit, fair isle, hand knitting and crochet techniques, and was based around the repurposing of one of Celtic & Co.’s best-selling products, a navy Cable Boyfriend Cardigan.
Commenting on her experience, Yang said: “Working with a brand is a new experience for me, and as a future fashion knitwear designer, I think it was a great opportunity that was helpful for my career development. I am so grateful to be able to work with a brand which truly cares about sustainability. My project aimed to encourage consumers to appreciate slow fashion through the charm of hand knit and crochet, which allowed me to repurpose and create individual pieces.”
Each student had a design from their collection made up into a garment.
NTU course Leader of BA Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles, Helen Hill, concluded:
“Our second-year students have gained valuable industry experience working on this live project with Celtic & Co. and Robert Todd. It provided them with an awareness of knitwear design in a commercial context as well as an opportunity to explore sustainable solutions. It’s fantastic to see how their confidence has grown when communicating and engaging with industry. We were delighted with the final outcomes and the students have thoroughly enjoyed it.”