The Salvation Army has teamed up with Zero Waste Scotland and two fashion designers
Two Scottish designers have transformed clothes donated to charity and created unique collections to be sold in aid of the Salvation Army.
Aimee Kent and Black Cherry Studio have been busy rummaging around Salvation Army shops and refashioned the unwanted clothing they found donated to the charity.
Teaming up with Zero Waste Scotland they wanted to remind people clothing always has value and should never be thrown away.
An expert fashion panel will now appraise the collections and deliver their professional valuations on how much the newly created pieces are exactly worth.
The collections will then be sold with proceeds shared between the designers and the Salvation Army Trading Company.
The final collections are stunning; they really surpassed all expectations
Designer Aimee Kent said she found inspiration in the architectural facades of the Salvation Army Trading Company’s headquarters in New York, as well as retro Salvation Army logos and graphic artwork.
She added: “Using inspiration from the art-deco features, I created hand drawn artwork which was then transformed into repeat patterns and placement prints.
“All of the garments, panelling and embroidered details are inspired by the symmetrical geometric art deco structures.”
Jemma Wood, from Black Cherry Studio said it focussed on print design for its collection.
“Ours is a mix of simply adding prints to an existing garment to completely deconstructing an item and making it into a useable accessory to give it a whole new lease of life.
“We wanted to demonstrate how simple and easy it can be to transform an already existing item into something new and wearable again."
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 it receives 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 charity said: “The final collections are stunning; they really surpassed all expectations. I’m particularly impressed at how the two designers used inspiration from The Salvation Army in the design stages.
“The simple acts of donating your unwanted items to charity and buying from our charity shops, means you’re helping us raise millions of pounds each year for extremely vulnerable people in the UK. “
Lynn Wilson, textiles manager at Zero Waste Scotland, which also reported this week that Scotland is recycling more than ever before and has reduced its carbon waste by 17% in the past two years, added: “We are really impressed by the final collections. Both designers have completely transformed old, unwanted garments into gorgeous new garments which are completely unrecognisable.
“All textiles have a value and can be used again and again. Clothing should never be put in the general waste bin and I believe our talented designers have spectacularly proved with this chic collection, inspired by the Salvation Army, that there’s an inherent value in clothing – and if you’re finished with it, someone else can use it!”
