Student Fabric Initiative

The BFC Student Fabric Initiative is a deadstock donation project created to encourage the donation of quality fabrics and components to students studying at BFC Colleges Council member universities.

The BFC Student Fabric Initiative is a deadstock donation project created to encourage the donation of quality fabrics and components to students studying at BFC Colleges Council member universities. This is a charitable initiative that the BFC undertakes on a yearly basis, and comes at no cost to those universities.

The purpose is to help students get access to free quality materials and to normalise the use of deadstock as part of their design practice. The scheme’s ultimate ambition is to create a simple and efficient way for designer brands and universities to work together and provide practical support for future talent, bringing sustainability and circularity even closer to the heart of fashion education in the UK. For 2023/24 the BFC partnered again with The Materialist, a deadstock fabrics marketplace, who oversaw all deliveries to universities across the UK.

In conjunction with the donation project, the BFC also re-launched a competition for Fashion Design students, to encourage new talent at BA and MA level to think creatively about deadstock and circularity. Students submitted a design proposal that could be fully realised and showcased at the IPF Forum 2024. 4 finalists have been selected to exhibit their garments and all guests attending the event will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite creation.

With many thanks to Burberry, Eudon Choi, Labrum London, Margaret Howell and Nicholas Daley for their generous donations that reached over 30 universities across the UK.

If you would like to find out more about the BFC Student Fabric Initiative or how to get involved, please email the BFC Education Team:

Giulia Manganelli, Senior Membership & Designer Initiatives Manager, giulia.manganelli@britishfashioncouncil.com

Dominic Osbourne, Senior Membership & Designer Initiatives Executive, dominic.osbourne@britishfashioncouncil.com

Eleanor Rose

MA Fashion, Royal College of Art

Jodie Emma Louise Alford

BA Fashion, Arts University Bournemouth

Milena Karcz

BA Fashion, Ravensbourne University London

Molly Williams Prentice

BA Fashion, Edinburgh College of Art

Eleanor Rose

MA Fashion, Royal College of Art

In this design project, the key focus is on designing for disassembly. Considering the composition of the fabrics and trims, this design is created with the 'end of life' in mind, facilitating easy disassembly for potential future reuse or recycling. All the textiles and trims in this project are from deadstock sources, giving new life to textiles and extending their lifecycle. The use of cutting-edge infrared scanning technology, ensured the deadstock fabric's composition consisted of natural fibres. To revitalise the textiles, the deadstock fabric was dyed using natural dyes derived from plant sources, devoid of harmful chemicals, reducing the overall impact of the up-cycling process. At the heart of this project is modular design, where one garment seamlessly transforms into interchangeable form, a trouser or a jacket. The design is enhanced by an adjustable waistband catering to diverse wearers. These king of 'modular garments' have the potential to encourage users to own fewer garments with versatile styling options, fostering adaptability and longevity of the up-cycled garments and brings more value to the user.

Jodie Emma Louise Alford

BA Fashion, Arts University Bournemouth

This look is part of my collection centred around the struggle to find the ideal work/life balance, stemming from my own ambitions for starting a family and building a brand. This is visually represented with a juxtaposition of tailoring and knitwear. My knitwear pulls inspiration from the Cornwall countryside views visible from my parent's barn, reflecting a more pared back way of life. My use of check fabrics was influenced by sharp city landscapes, representing a bustling city work life. My buttons are made from Corozo, a natural plastic alternative made from Tagua Palm Tree nuts from Ecuador. My collection's fabrics are exclusively deadstock, sourced through a collaboration with Mother Of Pearl, as well as Parisian deadstock shops that source end of roll fabrics from the luxury fashion industry. Working with deadstock is limiting, so I wanted to develop a fabric that utilised small amounts. I cut patches and embellished them together to create one fabric, then layered yarns to add texture and hint towards my knitwear. This technique can be brought forward to utilise excess fabric scraps, pushing for zero waste production. I have saved all my fabric scraps from my collection to develop this further.

Milena Karcz

BA Fashion, Ravensbourne University London

The concept for this project is transformation of dead stock fabric while meeting the 'UN Sustainable Goal 12: Ensuring Responsible Consumption and Production'. ‘Hysteric deformations’ is a part of my collection influenced by a Polish novel ‘Ferdydurke’ and Marek Koterski’s films. It focuses on the change of form and is aimed to comment on the restriction of form: the more we try to escape one box the more we are put into another one. The silhouette inspiration came from vintage jumpers found in polish charity shops, family member’s wardrobes and magazines from the communist Poland. The cable knit look was recreated by deconstructing the weave of deadstock tweed fabric sourced from 'Woolcrest Textiles Ltd', where the horizontal threads were removed, and the vertical ones braided together to achieve a three-dimensional effect. The Jacquard was inspired by prints found on vintage jumpers that were then deformed and knitted on a Stoll machine using deadstock yarns from Denier Studio.

Molly Williams Prentice

BA Fashion, Edinburgh College of Art

This project is an exploration of the need for reconnection between clothes, their maker, wearer, and the natural resources used in their production. Using traditional and hands-on textiles techniques such as natural dye, spinning and knit, my work attempts to celebrate physical making and innovative textiles using flowers, seeds and reeds. This dress was made from deadstock Scottish cashmere donated by Alex Begg and dyed with avocado pits and skins, and paired alongside linen trousers dyed with red onion skins. The dress was produced on a Dubied knit machine using circular knitting techniques to weave dried flowers and seeds into the piece both during the knitting process and after. Utilising food waste for colour to transform deadstock materials places sustainability at the forefront of the project. My aim was to transform these materials, whilst creating a connection to the final garment.