Fashion students recognised for upcycling designs at UK Parliament event

Fashion students from universities across the UK have been recognised at a reception at the Houses of Parliament after creating upcycled garments for the inaugural Singer Sustainable Sewing Awards, an initiative supporting children's charity Barnardo's.

The competition, organised by Singer Sewing Machines UK, invited students to transform pre-loved garments into original fashion pieces that demonstrate creative design while promoting textile reuse. All of the shortlisted garments will be sold during a Barnardo's eBay Live auction in August, with proceeds supporting the charity's work with children and families.

The awards were presented by The Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant, who announced Charlie Kenyon of De Montfort University, Lou Wild of Falmouth University and Sameera Kaur of the University of Westminster as the competition's three winners. Each student and their university received a Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine.

Grant highlighted the technical and creative challenges of working with existing garments, noting that the competition demonstrated how discarded clothing can be transformed into pieces with lasting value.

The winning designs reflected different approaches to upcycling. Kenyon created a patchwork shirt dress using unwanted clothing inspired by the do-it-yourself ethos of 1970s punk fashion. Wild reworked a shirt and skirt into a winter jacket, drawing on garments previously owned by family members, while Kaur's denim-based design built on an earlier university project exploring garment reuse.

The parliamentary reception also featured remarks from Mary Creagh MP, the UK's Minister for the Circular Economy, who linked the competition to wider efforts to reduce textile waste. She noted that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of textiles are discarded in the UK each year and encouraged emerging designers to consider how creative design can extend the lifespan of clothing.

The initiative forms part of Singer's ongoing partnership with Barnardo's ReFashion Hub programme, which repairs and upcycles donated garments that cannot otherwise be sold. According to Barnardo's, the charity receives around 6,000 tonnes of damaged or unsuitable clothing each year, much of which can be repurposed through repair and redesign rather than discarded.

For fashion educators, the competition highlights the growing role of circular design projects within fashion education. By combining live industry briefs, sustainability objectives and charitable fundraising, the programme provides students with practical experience in upcycling while demonstrating how creative design can contribute to reducing textile waste and supporting community initiatives.