Scottish designers campaign against wastage of clothes

A host of Scottish designers, including Jennifer Morris, Deetz, William Chambers and Alan Moore, have offered their skills to be part of a campaign which encourages the up-cycling and recycling of unwanted clothes.

The campaign involving the designers is being promoted to cut the massive clothing wastage in Scotland.

As a nation Scotland has a staggering 30 billion pounds worth of clothes and they bin clothing which is still worth 140 million pounds, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Each Scottish designer has liberated a piece of clothing or accessory to give it a new lease of life. They showed that with some straight forward adjustments, the old little black dress or the discarded suit lying at the back of the wardrobe can be transformed into an updated, on-trend garment.

Each of the designers added simple updates that can be easily followed to create a DIY (Do it Yourself) high-end look all under 10 pounds.

"I got involved in this project as hats are excellent accessories to update and up-cycle, meaning you can wear the same hat with different trims to various special occasions. If you buy well and invest in a good quality timeless hat shape it can be easily modernised with new trims so that it can get worn again and again," said designer William Chambers.

The up-cycled items updated by the designers were used in a fashion-forward photo shoot, all styled with second hand accessories from Glad Rags thrift shop in Glasgow. It is an attempt to prove that no one needs to spend a fortune to update their wardrobe.

Glad Rags, a not-for-profit organisation, is also providing a vintage-look statement clutch to give your existing garments a fresh, fashionable look at a fraction of the price - all the while helping the environment.

The organisation is also hosting an event titled "Love Your Clothes" that will invite consumers to be part of a campaign named "Spring Clean Your Wardrobe Weekend".

Running for two days, starting Saturday, people around Scotland will clear out their wardrobes and choose items to recycle or follow in the Scottish designers' footsteps and up-cycle their garments to give their closets a much needed update just in time for summer.

Designer outlet John Lewis in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen will be running workshops taken by leading Scottish textile designers along with Scottish bloggers Betty and Bee, who will be holding a workshop in Glasgow's Beyond the Finish Line.