MFF x LCI MELBOURNE DESIGN STUDENTS UPCYCLING CHALLENGE

MFF x LCI MELBOURNE DESIGN STUDENTS

UPCYCLING CHALLENGE

Six fashion students and/or emerging talent from LCI Melbourne took part in a two day upcycling challenge at Emporium Melbourne during Melbourne Fashion Festival. Students were tasked to re-imagine and create new garments from the fabrics donated by retailers for this challenge.

We provided deadstock fabric for this event to support emerging designers and the elimination of textile waste.

Through our ongoing partnership with UPPAREL, we are able to reuse and repurpose excess stock and fabric offcuts to extend the life cycle of our garments.

We are working towards expanding our impact by offering our customers the opportunity to recycle pre-loved BEC + BRIDGE garments in our retail boutiques in 2023.

Find out more about our Partnerships page.

DESIGNER Q&A

MFF x LCI MELBOURNE DESIGN STUDENTS

UPCYCLING CHALLENGE

Six fashion students and/or emerging talent from LCI Melbourne took part in a two day upcycling challenge at Emporium Melbourne during Melbourne Fashion Festival. Students were tasked to re-imagine and create new garments from the fabrics donated by retailers for this challenge.

We provided deadstock fabric for this event to support emerging designers and the elimination of textile waste.

Through our ongoing partnership with UPPAREL, we are able to reuse and repurpose excess stock and fabric offcuts to extend the life cycle of our garments.

We are working towards expanding our impact by offering our customers the opportunity to recycle pre-loved BEC + BRIDGE garments in our retail boutiques in 2023.

Find out more about our Partnerships page.

DESGINERS Q& A

SULLIVAN KOVACS | @Sullivan.Kovacs

1. What inspires you most?

A lot of my designs are driven by storytelling and follow a journey. The stories I grew up with, whether that be from books, television, or video games, are a big influence in my outcomes. I consider myself a world builder and am inspired by external factors of these worlds like culture and ecosystems.

2. Tell us about your experience studying fashion in Australia?

I think we have a super unique experience studying fashion in Australia. Everything is super localized so we have more communications and insight into brands and labels we have onshore, as well as how fashion events are run. We also are aligned with our super rich history and diversity, and learn alot about the importance of appreciation and recognising culture.

3. How would you describe your personal style?

I think as a base, I try to lean a little more into androgyny. I stray away from gender when it comes to styling myself, and take a more intuitive approach when dressing; applying to my body what makes me feel good on that day. If I had to label it I would say a very 70s inspiration, but whether that's a 1670s pirate, or a 1970s witch depends on what I'm feeling.

4. Sustainability and reducing waste is a big focus for the global fashion industry. What do you think can be done on a local level to make improvements?

I think post lockdown, a lot of consumers are moving out of fast fashion, and are really holding brands accountable for the waste. As consumers we should shop with our dollars and opt for secondhand and resellers, and brands that are doing their part to reduce waste. For brands, they should consider using more deadstock fabrics, donating or heavily discounting old stock, rather than sending it to landfill, and being more aware of the processes in production, such as dyeing and wastes from that.

5. What changes would you like to see in the Australian fashion industry?

I think we need to focus more energy into circular fashion. Brands need to partner with scientists to produce recycled materials fit for use in fashion. Although expense for these is high with low outcomes, the more demand for this will create more accessibility in the future. Brands need to focus more on their waste and what they do with it.

ALEXANDER GIBSON | @alexanthophila

1. What inspires you most?

I’m deeply inspired by the misfits and outcasts of the world - those that were and are brave enough to express themselves authentically in a world that they were taught they don’t fit into. I’m all about breaking the mould when it comes to representation and pushing the boundaries of fashion, showing that beauty comes in all shapes and forms.

2. Tell us about your experience studying fashion in Australia?

Being a fashion student in Australia is a unique experience - as an island country separated from the rest of the world, we definitely have our own lifestyle and experiences that play into Australian fashion. As a culturally diverse nation, we also have influences and inspiration coming from a wide range of demographics, further enhancing the experience of studying and exploring fashion in Australia.

3. How would you describe your personal style?

I would describe my personal style as individual and inherently queer. I have a passion for contrast and drama, and my choices often lie outside the gender binary. I believe that clothing should be genderless, and I like to consider fashion as both an art form and a form of expression above all else. I take inspiration from a juxtaposition of influences, such as grunge and preppy, vintage and contemporary, or conservative and ostentatious.

4. Sustainability and reducing waste is a big focus for the global fashion industry. What do you think can be done on a local level to make improvements?

To aid in reducing waste on a local level, I believe fashion should become a more collaborative effort. Designers and labels should aim to have a destination for their waste or deadstock, rather than a disposal method. This could include trading old stock, scraps, and materials no longer required to other creators in the community who could use these to create new products, and therefore extend the life of these materials. Where this cannot be done however, companies should make textile or hardware recycling a priority over the easy way out of sending waste straight to landfill.

5. What changes would you like to see in the Australian fashion industry?

I would love to see the Australian fashion industry put a greater focus on circular fashion - this means ensuring pieces and materials complete multiple lifecycles, rather than following a linear path from creation to disposal. Fashion is one of the biggest polluting industries on the planet, and we need to change this to protect our planet - there is already an abundance of clothing and materials in the world, and by recycling, upcycling, and designing for a circular lifecycle, the Australian fashion industry can do its part to protect the future of both the industry and the planet.

CHI WHELLER | @garms.by.chi

1.What inspires you most?

Combining art and fashion to design/construct garments using planet friendly materials and practices.

2.Tell us about your experience studying fashion in Australia?

Since moving to LCI to complete my bachelor degree I have loved studying fashion. The learning style is creative, one on one and guided. Design outcomes are brought out not pushed.

3. How would you describe your personal style?

Heightened streetwear.

4. Sustainability and reducing waste is a big focus for the global fashion industry, what do you think can be done on a local level to make improvements?

Upcycling existing garments, reducing minimum order quantities dramatically, using sustainable materials and practices to create garment outcomes.

5. What changes would you like to see in the Australian fashion industry?

Further emphasis on recycling/upcycling, sustainable materials and practices, constructing small minimum order quantities or preferably made to order garments.

SULLIVAN KOVACS | @Sullivan.Kovacs

1. What inspires you most?

A lot of my designs are driven by storytelling and follow a journey. The stories I grew up with, whether that be from books, television, or video games, are a big influence in my outcomes. I consider myself a world builder and am inspired by external factors of these worlds like culture and ecosystems.

2. Tell us about your experience studying fashion in Australia?

I think we have a super unique experience studying fashion in Australia. Everything is super localized so we have more communications and insight into brands and labels we have onshore, as well as how fashion events are run. We also are aligned with our super rich history and diversity, and learn alot about the importance of appreciation and recognising culture.

3. How would you describe your personal style?

I think as a base, I try to lean a little more into androgyny. I stray away from gender when it comes to styling myself, and take a more intuitive approach when dressing; applying to my body what makes me feel good on that day. If I had to label it I would say a very 70s inspiration, but whether that's a 1670s pirate, or a 1970s witch depends on what I'm feeling.

4. Sustainability and reducing waste is a big focus for the global fashion industry. What do you think can be done on a local level to make improvements?

I think post lockdown, a lot of consumers are moving out of fast fashion, and are really holding brands accountable for the waste. As consumers we should shop with our dollars and opt for secondhand and resellers, and brands that are doing their part to reduce waste. For brands, they should consider using more deadstock fabrics, donating or heavily discounting old stock, rather than sending it to landfill, and being more aware of the processes in production, such as dyeing and wastes from that.

5. What changes would you like to see in the Australian fashion industry?

I think we need to focus more energy into circular fashion. Brands need to partner with scientists to produce recycled materials fit for use in fashion. Although expense for these is high with low outcomes, the more demand for this will create more accessibility in the future. Brands need to focus more on their waste and what they do with it.

ALEXANDER GIBSON | @alexanthophila

1. What inspires you most?

I’m deeply inspired by the misfits and outcasts of the world - those that were and are brave enough to express themselves authentically in a world that they were taught they don’t fit into. I’m all about breaking the mould when it comes to representation and pushing the boundaries of fashion, showing that beauty comes in all shapes and forms.

2. Tell us about your experience study ing fashion in Australia?

Being a fashion student in Australia is a unique experience - as an island country separated from the rest of the world, we definitely have our own lifestyle and experiences that play into Australian fashion. As a culturally diverse nation, we also have influences and inspiration coming from a wide range of demographics, further enhancing the experience of studying and exploring fashion in Australia.

3. How would you describe your personal style?

I would describe my personal style as individual and inherently queer. I have a passion for contrast and drama, and my choices often lie outside the gender binary. I believe that clothing should be genderless, and I like to consider fashion as both an art form and a form of expression above all else. I take inspiration from a juxtaposition of influences, such as grunge and preppy, vintage and contemporary, or conservative and ostentatious.

4. Sustainability and reducing waste is a big focus for the global fashion industry. What do you think can be done on a local level to make improvements?

To aid in reducing waste on a local level, I believe fashion should become a more collaborative effort. Designers and labels should aim to have a destination for their waste or deadstock, rather than a disposal method. This could include trading old stock, scraps, and materials no longer required to other creators in the community who could use these to create new products, and therefore extend the life of these materials. Where this cannot be done however, companies should make textile or hardware recycling a priority over the easy way out of sending waste straight to landfill.

5. What changes would you like to see in the Australian fashion industry?

I would love to see the Australian fashion industry put a greater focus on circular fashion - this means ensuring pieces and materials complete multiple lifecycles, rather than following a linear path from creation to disposal. Fashion is one of the biggest polluting industries on the planet, and we need to change this to protect our planet - there is already an abundance of clothing and materials in the world, and by recycling, upcycling, and designing for a circular lifecycle, the Australian fashion industry can do its part to protect the future of both the industry and the planet.

CHI WHELLER | @garms.by.chi

1.What inspires you most?

Combining art and fashion to design/construct garments using planet friendly materials and practices.

2.Tell us about your experience studying fashion in Australia?

Since moving to LCI to complete my bachelor degree I have loved studying fashion. The learning style is creative, one on one and guided. Design outcomes are brought out not pushed.

3. How would you describe your personal style?

Heightened streetwear.

4. Sustainability and reducing waste is a big focus for the global fashion industry, what do you think can be done on a local level to make improvements?

Upcycling existing garments, reducing minimum order quantities dramatically, using sustainable materials and practices to create garment outcomes.

5. What changes would you like to see in the Australian fashion industry?

Further emphasis on recycling/upcycling, sustainable materials and practices, constructing small minimum order quantities or preferably made to order garments.