A Northbrook Fashion Design graduate has been selected as a finalist for a global award in design and innovation in sustainable fashion.
Sarka Chaloupkova impressed the judges of the 2011 Fashioning the Future Awards, with her work with ethically sourced fabrics, which she developed as a degree student at Northbrook. Her final project at College aimed to try to change the perceptions of ‘green’ fashion and present a collection that was modern and beautiful but with a conscience.
Sarka blended sustainable and ethical methods and processes with innovative tailoring in everyday clothing, which involved working with a company in India to source sustainable fair trade cloths and vintage trimmings. Her digital prints were produced on silks and fair trade cottons from India and limited the environmental impact of processing the fibres.
Northbrook’s Fashion Design Course Leader, Simon Seivewright, said, “I was extremely excited that Sarka had made the shortlist of finalists. It shows how increasing important the consideration of sustainability, ethics and environment are to the modern design graduate of today, and at Northbrook we support and encourage this through the teaching we provide.”
Sarka’s work, along with other selected finalists – who come from over 30 countries – was showcased in the East Wintergarden at Canary Wharf, London.
Fashioning the Future Awards was founded by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion and has quickly established itself as the leading international student competition for design and innovation in sustainable fashion.