Eco Designer Of The Future 2018 Winner Etta Lathan-Pons

Congratulations! Winner of @OffsetWarehouse Eco Designer of the Future 2018! #ecodesigner

Winner Etta Lathan-Pons

Fashion Design with Business Studies The University of Brighton

My final collection is inspired by the combination of elements which constitute to someone's identity. Be this material items with sentimental value, or elements of their upbringing. This has led me to focus on Sheffield as my home town and concentrating on the industrial history rooted in the steel works. The title of the collection came from a pair of Sheffield fabric sheers my father gave to me, inscribed ‘For the Fabric of Life’. The shapes within the garments are inspired by steel sculptures by Nick Moran. This also enabled me to utilise all pattern pieces, minimising waste and combine interesting angular shapes. I am looking to reuse and re-purpose some reclaimed fabrics and any new fabric used will be sourced from the most sustainable and ethical sources. Within the design I have submitted, I would be using black denim and the steel hessian. My choices reflect the hard-wearing work wear concept. I hope to create a collection that will one day contribute the the fabric of some else's life, rather than producing garments that can be seen as disposable.

Runners Up

Congratulations to all of the finalists. For the 3 who didn't win the grand prize, they've already bagged 10% off Offset Warehouse for the rest of the year, and 1 months Membership to The Members Club.

Krishma Sabbarwal

For this competition, I have chosen to use the light blue denim fabric and dye it green to create one of my samples that utilises all scrap fabric. Another material used is the sea green bamboo jersey using fabric manipulation techniques to create a new fabric. Dark blue denim to created a slashed and frayed sample, possibly for the super wide jeans. The superfine wool yarn can be dyed to my chosen colour of hot pink and green to create a knitted jumper. Included in my mood board are my hand drawn checks that would also look great as cropped oversized jumpers. 

Lauren Burton

MA Fashion Design Nottingham Trent University

Inspiration comes in many forms, and experience is so often the key. Re-imagined and reconstituted from anarchistic street art within Berlin, and conscious artwork plastered on the Berlin wall, the collection celebrates freedom and liberation. There are many reasons why this fabrication is perfect for my design. My ethos, is to work to achieve 100% design sustainability, and to refuse to make clothing at the expense of other people. This philosophy is at the heart of my manufacturing process and I need to ensure the fabrics I use are both environmentally friendly and ethically sourced. Further to this, consumption and waste is enormous throughout the textile industry, with fast fashion being at the forefront of this, I am working to achieve a timeless durable aesthetic, that need not be replaced often, nor seasonally. The reason I have chosen to work with denim, is for its ageless properties, ranging from durability to aesthetics. Denim remains a staple throughout wardrobes globally and continues to feature prominently in fashion, year in, year out. Hand painting my print designs onto the undyed cream twill will give the jacket a bespoke feel and add a unique ‘anti-mass production’ quality to my work.

Lucy Caster

This project aims to promote sustainable design to a millennial generation through the use of bold and exciting textile designs for a fashion outcome. In recent years, increases in sustainable alternatives has shown there is demand for change from fast fashion, however, these designs are often labelled as too expensive, plain and undesirable to the younger market. I hope to combat this stigma through printed textiles, using visual inspiration from construction sites and street art. By using bold colours, disruptive imagery and the rebellious connotations of street art I hope to transform sustainable design into an attractive and exciting field of fashion design, initiating a change in millennial mindsets, leading to more considered fashion choices.

By using sustainable fabrics including natural, organic and advanced materials and eco conscious digital printing, I aim to show that small changes at the design stage can drastically reduce environmental footprint, simultaneously improving the quality and durability of pieces. Using a variety of fabrics will allow the collection to educate consumers and promote the individual qualities of each material used.

Why isn't all design eco friendly? #ecofriendly #ethicaldesign

We can't wait to see what these students get up to, keep following the blog for more updates, and if you're a student going into your final year next year make sure you keep an eye out for next years competition!

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