Welcome to the Fashion Blog

Are you interested in reading fashion news about haute couture, prêt-à-porter and avant-garde clothing? We hope so because you will learn about these topics as well as find style reports about emerging designers, new lifestyle brands, cutting edge fabrics, and much more. Anything relevant to the fashion industry is open for discussion.

Enjoy the fashion blog to obtain your daily dose of inspiration. Keep your wardrobe as trendy as your mind.

Read more about fashion & style.

We hope that you love reading about fashion as much as we do.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Scottish Designers to Create Zero Waste Couture

Scots fashion and textiles designers have battled it out to become the country’s ‘pre-loved textiles talent’ who can fashion creative must-have collections from pre-loved clothing.
recycle apparel

After fending off tough competition, two gifted designers have been chosen for the one-off opportunity from Zero Waste Scotland and the Salvation Army Trading Company which will challenge them to display the value of textile waste by transforming old garments into new collections.

The initiative, part of the Love Your Clothes campaign, will see the winning experts embark on a 12-week residency to create two new “fashion-forward” collections from 150 kilos of unwanted garments. 

The Love Your Clothes campaign, from Zero Waste Scotland, has teamed up with the Salvation Army Trading Company to remind people that clothes should never be thrown away and they always have a value.

Specialising in printed textiles, Aimee Kent – who has worked with Henrietta Ludgate and Niki Taylor from The Top Project and Olanic – and Black Cherry Studio who have supplied Kookai, Jaques Vert and Primark – will create couture collections from clothes donated to Salvation Army charity shops and clothing banks, thereby transforming them into catwalk-worthy creations. 

Lynn Wilson, textiles manager, Zero Waste Scotland said: “The project aims to encourage Scots to pass on or donate old clothes first and recycle second. All textiles have a value and can be used again and again; clothing should never be put in the bin. 

“I believe that with a little TLC, most unwanted clothing can be transformed into something valuable. We really want people to see there is worth in their clothes.

“To really bring this message home, we teamed up with the Salvation Army to launch a unique competition among Scotland’s most talented fashion and textiles designers to see what they could create from the cast offs.

“Our two fabulous winners are eager to get started by hand-picking their staple pieces from five tonnes of unwanted garments. 

“They will then set to work over the next 12 weeks creating a new fashion and textiles collection using this previously unwanted and unsellable clothing.

“It will be interesting to see if anyone recognises their old clothes when we have the big reveal.”

Once complete, an expert fashion panel will appraise the collections and deliver their professional valuations on how much the newly created pieces are worth.   

In the UK alone, garments have an estimated life span of two years, three months. The average Scottish household owns around £4,000 worth of clothes, but wear only 70 percent of that each year, most commonly because it no longer fits.

It is estimated that £140million worth (350,000 tonnes) of used clothes ends up in landfill each year, which is over 30 percent of our wardrobes.

Joint winner, Aimee Kent said: “I feel honoured to have been chosen to take part. This opportunity is the perfect fit for me, because I already run a sustainable surface pattern design which focuses on the re-use of materials. I want to create designs that can be worn again and again and never go out of style. That’s what I intend to do here.”

Speaking of the upcoming challenge, Jemma Wood, owner of Black Cherry Studio said: “It feels absolutely amazing to have been selected. We were blown away when we heard the news. I have lots of great ideas that I am keen to get started on. 

“I want to create a meaningful collection that brings together elements of both the Salvation Army and Zero Waste Scotland. Our specialism is textile print, which will breathe new life into the unwanted garments and shoe people that with a little creativity you can turn the unwanted into the desirable. I can’t wait to get started.”

The Salvation Army Trading Company is one of the largest clothing recyclers in the UK with 52 charity shops in Scotland as well as thousands of recycling banks. 

Each year they receive around 30,000 tonnes of donated textiles in the UK, which helps raise vital funds for the charity’s work with vulnerable people. 

Catherine Hamou from The Salvation Army Trading Company said: “There is so much value in textiles that people often don’t see, so we’re really excited to play a part in this project. The creativity of these talented designers should prove to be very inspiring and we’re looking forward to the results over the coming months.

“As a charity that works with vulnerable people all over the country, we see the effects of poverty every day; clothing should never been thrown away when it can be reused or re-worn. Donating textiles to charities like us means that you’re helping to raise millions of pounds each year for people who need it most – and not only that, but you’re helping to prevent hugely unnecessary waste that could be heading straight to landfill.”

The charity is well known across the country, helping to fund programmes with homelessness and addiction services, care for older people, help at emergency incidents, support for adult victims of human trafficking in England and Wales, a Family Tracing Service and more. 

The commission will finish on 28 February 2016 with the collections unveiled in March 2016. 
Recycle Clothing
Love Your Clothes
Love Your Clothes is an initiative created by WRAP and delivered by Zero Waste Scotland that aims to raise awareness of the value of your garments and helps you make the most of the clothing you already have by encouraging people to think about the way they purchase, use and dispose of clothes.

Visit the website for tips and ideas on fixing, upcycling and caring for your clothes at http://www.loveyourclothes.org.uk

@loveyourclothes

Learn more about recycling clothing and how to recycle fiber & textiles here on Apparel Search.

Thank you for taking the time to read our fashion blog post. We hope that you have found this news to be informative. If you have comments or questions, please add your thoughts in the discussion area below.

Research something new.

Time to find trendy shoes, classic tops, fabulous handbags, and more.

Style tips

Review trendy fashion styles. Find the best clothing, shoes, handbags and fashion accessories.

Popular Fashion Blog Posts

Upgrade Your Wardrobe

Ready to shop? Apparel Search has a few favorite suggestions. Visit our new shopping page to view a few of our favorite fashion shopping destinations such as upscale boutiques like Barney's, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, etc.
If you are interested in upgrading your wardrobe, you can visit the fashion shopping page.


Experience style.

Fashion blogs typically cover various aspects of clothing, footwear and personal style. Ours is exactly what one would expect from a leading international resource and more.

Designer brands: If you are researching the newest emerging indie designers or the most popular international designer brands, you will find articles and enlightening reviews on the subject. Fashionistas will find what appears to be an endless stream of designer options.

Shopping: You can find consumer tips on issues such as how clothes should fit, where to find sample sales, and other information to help consumers research apparel and where to make purchases. We also discuss clothes, fabric, and color trends that offer assistance to shoppers.

Beauty: We do write articles about cosmetics, fragrances, hairstyle trends, and a wide assortment of beauty tips. Models, stylists, fashionistas, and photographers, will surely find news articles of interest.

Essentially, we cover most of the topics you would find in an industry journal as well as other topics that you would discover in a typical fashion magazine.

Fashion is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has considerable impact on the way ordinary people dress and present themselves. Fashion is trend-driven and our fashion blog by Apparel Search provides a riveting way to follow and oversee these fast-paced trends. The blogoshepere has tons of style sites for your review. We thank you for taking the time to view ours.

If you have fashion news about your company, product, or service, that you wish to share with the world, let us know. You are also welcome to comment in the discussion area beneath each post and share with your friends on social media.

Looking for more resources? You are welcome to learn about other fashion blogs so that you can continue your research.

Who created this amazing blog?

Apparel Search Company - Visit our home page to learn more about the fashion industry at www.ApparelSearch.com

Our style blog incorporates topics such as clothing, footwear, jewelry, beauty products and fashion accessories. From luxury lifestyle choices stemming from Paris, Milan or Hong Kong to urban street trends from Chicago & the boroughs of New York, we have your style covered.
Take your time to browse the various areas of our blog, or head back over to the main area of our Apparel Search website to learn more about our industry.

Tips on Participation

The fashion blog is not only for reading. Nor is it about simply viewing pictures of super models, beautiful celebrities & trendy photographs of handbags & shoes. Consumers, fashionistas, and members of the apparel industry are welcome to participate at the bottom of each blog post.

Members of the garment industry, consumers, and fashionistas are welcome to comment at the bottom of our posts.

Yes, if you don't wish to participate, you are welcome to simply view our pages. Participation is not a requirement. Even you don't wish to share your thoughts that is perfectly understandable. It is our pleasure to present to you the fashion, beauty and style that intrigues Apparel Search. Hopefully our reporting will arouse your curiosity and interest as well. You can jump into the conversation if that is appealing to you.