Fiona Cartmel

"My work is all about sustainability; everything I’ve made is from waste. I contacted loads of fashion industry companies and asked them to give me their offcuts or damaged fabrics. I’ve put them through a process to pleat them, essentially making a new fabric. I wanted to revitalise waste and show that you can make beautiful things from other people’s rubbish. Craft is a big part of my work and I used a lot of hand processes which take hours to do. The idea is that I want people to treasure fashion rather than it be something disposable.

"I’ve got six different garments under the same theme but they’re all different fabrics. This coat, for example, is made from salvaged material which companies cut off at the edges after it’s been marked by the machinery. I’ve also got garments made from plastic waste, netting and all sorts of different materials brought together. I’ve always been interested in sustainability but this project was my chance to make everything I did as sustainable as possible. I had to think about everything down to the organic threads. It’s been a real challenge but I’ve learned so many zero-waste techniques for making by doing it." Fiona Cartmel