On Wednesday 13th November, CSVPA Fashion tutors and BA(hons) Fashion and BA(hons) Fashion Branding & Creative Communication students took part in an event held in partnership with the Museum of Zoology, in Cambridge, called Make Zoo and Mend. The event focused on educating visitors on how they can approach a sustainable practice with fashion and textiles to reduce fashion’s contribution to landfill, as well as exploring new techniques, approaches and methodologies to do so.
Attracting a large number of attendees, Make Zoo and Mend shone a light on the fact that the fashion industry has a huge impact on the environment and how, through embracing a sustainable future through fashion and textiles, this impact can be mitigated. The workshops available to visitors were all designed to encourage them, and provide them with the skills, to repair, re-style, enhance and therefore cherish the clothes that are already hanging in their wardrobes, instead of contributing to fast fashion.
Roz Wade, Senior Learning and Engagement Coordinator at the Museum of Zoology (University of Cambridge), explains “We love this event because the fashion industry has such a massive impact on the environment and…we wanted to try and see if we could do something about it. There are things that we can do, and working with CSVPA fashion students on this has been really great. It’s been eye opening seeing how many amazing things can be created in a sustainable way and how we can fix our clothes and make them even better than they were before they were broken.”
Workshops were hosted by CSVPA staff and students, as well as alumna Hana Amelia who now works for an environmental charity and led a darning workshop for guests to enjoy.
“I specialise in mending, darning and Sashiko and we’re running a workshop where we’re…teaching some skills which I think have been lost in recent years” said Hana. “It’s that kind of talking about it, reigniting the passion, understanding that clothes aren’t one use and also considering the connection that we have to clothes and the importance that they can have to you. There’s something very magical about mending clothes and putting a new lease of life in them.”
Workshops were also held by textile artist Stephanie Norwood, who guided visitors through the process of creating patchwork animals with scrap materials and embroidery. Drawing specialist Dan Whiteson ran collage and mark making activities throughout the evening in the amazing gallery spaces.
As well as the workshops on offer, guests could enjoy live photography and displays of films and animations, alongside garments and work in progress crafted by our CSVPA students.
BA(hons) Fashion Branding & Creative Communication students worked with visitors to provide tips and advice on how to re-style the clothes and accessories they already own to breath new life into their wardrobes.
CSVPA staff and students challenged themselves by running a live making project during the evening, crafting scarfs and hats with leftover materials from UK manufacturers for visitors to take away with them. A wonderful reminder of an insightful and enjoyable evening.
“We’re delighted to be collaborating with the Museum of Zoology in Cambridge for this event, Make Zoo and Mend. It’s really about sustainability and fashion” said Holly Fulton, Head of Fashion at CSVPA. “It’s a really multimedia event and a great way for the students to get an audience to see their creations and also to engage with the local community in Cambridge.”
Find out more about our BA(hons) Fashion and BA(hons) Fashion Branding & Creative Communication courses at CSVPA.
