Burberry has partnered with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), based at London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London (UAL) on ‘Reimagining Materials’, a new student competition that reinforces its focus on circularity through design.
Inspired by a rich history of product craftsmanship, the partnership brought together talented fashion students with members of Burberry’s creative and commercial teams to explore the theme of circularity. The competition provided students from LCF with an opportunity to showcase their creativity through a series of review sessions, while learning from Burberry’s product experts.
Over a couple of months, 20 shortlisted students were challenged with a real industry brief to present new and exciting ways of reinventing surplus materials, including Burberry’s iconic trench gabardine, Burberry Check lining fabric, leather and a selection of trims, into original products.
Following a series of portfolio and prototype review sessions and an educational workshop on the brand’s heritage and house codes, the students’ designs were judged by a panel composed of representatives from Burberry’s product, digital and merchandising teams, and members of CSF’s knowledge exchange team.
The winning design belongs to Clara Gröning, BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Development student at LCF. Gröning’s original piece, alongside nine other selected finalists’ work, was showcased at the ‘Reimagining Materials’ exhibition held in the Wolfson Gallery at London College of Fashion’s new home at East Bank. The final designs were also displayed at Burberry’s London Regent Street store. As well as receiving a cash prize, Clara will join Burberry for an internship this autumn.
Supported by Burberry’s Early Careers team, the ‘Reimagining Materials’ programme builds on a range of initiatives that Burberry offers to help talented young people and recent graduates gain first-hand experience alongside industry professionals, including its recent collaboration with the National Saturday Club and partnership with The BRIT School.
“Burberry to me is very synonymous with heritage. I have always been fascinated by brands with strong visual brand language and company code, because it is an interesting challenge to adhere to this, whilst still reinventing yourself. I think that was my favourite part of this competition,” Gröning said.
“We are delighted to be able to partner with Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), London College of Fashion (LCF), UAL to bring this competition to life. With the support of our incredible judging panel, we were able to create a competition with CSF that really challenged the students to think outside of the box and build circularity into a practical design brief. We were so impressed by the calibre and creativity of all the designs, and by how dynamically each student applied their design skills throughout the competition,” said Helen Davis, VP product strategy and member of Burberry judging panel.
“The Reimagining Materials competition is a magnificent manifestation of how relationships can create knowledge, skills and capabilities that contribute to a prosperous world we can all enjoy. Relationships are formed through mutual curiosity, shared interests and openness for co-learning; qualities we have seen throughout the phases of the competition, clearly embodied in the thoughtful circular designs of our finalists and winner,” said professor Dilys Williams, director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion, UAL.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)
