We love anything to do with sustainability and fashion, so we were absolutely delighted to take part in the Gaia - Mother Nature: Fashion Remade challenge in Kirkstall, Leeds.
The charity event, which was part of the Kirkstall Art Trail, culminated in a brilliant catwalk show on 21st July.
We were one of 16 designers who took on the challenge of transforming charity shop bargains into outfits. The show, in the stunning Kirkstall Abbey ruins, presented the results of the challenge and showcased a ton of imagination and style. There had been a lot of work behind the scenes!
We started with a trip to the Cancer Research shop in Kirkstall where we had great a great time rummaging for items which inspired us. We came away with a duvet set, a pair of curtains, a quilted coat, 2 jersey dresses, a pair of leggings, a playsuit, a pleather skirt and dress, a nude shift dress, a multicoloured top and a jump suit. So much to play with!
While most of the designers made one outfit, ZARAMIA AVA couldn’t help going above and beyond with 4 outfits, a total of 11 garments, two scarves and a bag. Being zero waste is in our DNA, so we didn’t leave much scrap!
We used our current designs as a basis for creating the new garments, mixing prints and using different fabrics together. Some of the brighter prints made great scarves to add colour to the monochrome bedding fabric and we used the cutout detail in the burgundy pleather dress to accent the sleeves of the black and burgundy jacket.
Bandeau’s as are a staple of our collections, and we love how our nude and orange print ones have come out. Our favourite garment, however, is our EMI dress. We cut the fabrics pieces in diagonal shapes which gave a unique look to the garment.
We were excited to see our outfits on the catwalk and our models, did a brilliant job of bringing them to life.
It has been a really interesting challenge for us. Usually, we stick to subtle prints, neutral or understated colours but we enjoyed introducing some brighter shades and mixing fabrics. Working with the pleather surprisingly trouble-free.
It wasn’t all easy though! With only three weeks to complete the challenge, there was a great deal of work to be done to disassemble the charity shop clothes and piece together enough fabric to bring our vision to life. We even added lining to all but 3 of the garments and finished everything with our signature label.
It’s been a great experience both creatively and practically. We feel inspired to work more with different fabrics and take some more trips to the charity shop!
We’d like to thank the organisers of the Kirkstall Art Trail of the fashion show, our models and all those involved.
