Fashion students create sustainable bespoke collection

Students from Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (GB MET) worked with textile artist, Dr Noki, and international vintage clothing retailer, Beyond Retro, to produce bespoke garments that are now on sale at Beyond Retro’s flagship store in Brighton. 

Students transformed the GB MET College brand into a fashion brand, using screen print, knit, crochet and embellishment to construct their one-of-a-kind pieces.

The students were inspired by Dr Noki, a textile artist and anti-fast fashion activist, and were tasked to celebrate the anti-fast fashion industry in their designs. The talks by Dr Noki were kindly funded by UniConnect. 

This live project equipped the Level 3 Fashion Design & Business Diploma students with the skills to create a custom build. Each student was tasked with adapting and altering two vintage tees, given to them by Beyond Retro, to create a bespoke collection.

The collections, visually merchandised by head VM Alice, ‘dropped’ at Beyond Retro’s flagship store in Brighton on 18 January, with all proceeds going to the Clock Tower Sanctuary.

Course Leader for Fashion Design & Business, Georgina Hooper, said: “The collaboration between textile artist Dr Noki and the fashion and business students has been such an exciting and ambitious one. The students took such a professional approach to this project with such innovation, creativity, individuality and ambition. 

“Sustainability is such an integral element of fashion design today, equipping young creatives of the future with the skills set to pattern cut and design in a way which grows the landfill drop is essentia, and these students have embraced this head on. Because of the unique selection on offer, each piece is as unique as its destined owner. I could not be more proud of them. What a brilliant experience and way to learn the fast pace of fashion!”