Great British Sewing Bee winner Serena Baker presents at Sustainable Fashion Festival

Over 350 people attended the Sustainable Fashion: Re-Clothing the Future festival at Glasgow Caledonian University, hosted by Scottish comedian Anna Devitt.

In front of an audience of mostly school pupils and students from across Scotland, Serena Baker, the 2021 winner of the BBC reality show Great British Sewing Bee, took part in a live upcycling and clothing repair demonstration.

The event was organised by My Climate Path, a COP26 education legacy project created by Developing the Young Workforce Glasgow.

Business leaders, activists and policymakers also attended the event, with the conference acting as an opportunity for young people to make connections for future action and job opportunities. Additional initiatives involved a clothing swap shop by Shrub Coop and a live performance on the impact of fast fashion by Comedy and Confidence.

“The Sustainable Fashion Festival encapsulates a combined effort for achieving a circular and net-zero economy with the focus on creating the jobs of the future and a lasting legacy for our young people,” said Alison McRae, senior director at Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.

She continued: “Not only are we trying to inspire and educate young people about their own use of clothing, we hope to encourage those with a passion for fashion to consider a career within the sector as we link them up with the business and the academic organisations which can help them get there.”

Event partners included the likes of ACS Clothing, ApparelXchange, Marie Curie and Repair What You Wear.