An ambitious fashion design course for schoolchildren in Barnsbury that was launched last month will culminate in a catwalk show in trendy Shoreditch.
The five-month long after-school course is free for youngsters and their collection will be judged by top sustainable fashion designers next February.
The programme Kool Kouture is being run by social enterprise Thrifty Couture with funding from the Cripplegate foundation. It aims to teach young people specialist craftsmanship skills which are in decline in the age of fast and disposable fashion.
In a similar vain to the slow food movement, the course in “slow fashion” is about “sitting down and reviewing the valuable skills that we are losing,” said Judith Paris, founder of Thrifty Couture. “It’s about making things that are both durable and beautiful,” she said.
The young designers will start by making small accessories and gifts from off-cuts of cloth which they will sell at a Christmas market. In the New Year, work will begin on their own fashion collection.
For promising designers aged 14-16 years there is the chance to win a fashion apprenticeship. Prizes including sewing machines are available for the younger 11-13 group.
The course is strongly focused on boosting the employability of young people and teaching a range of skills.
“The group realised the other day ‘Oh my god we need to know how to do maths to do this!’ It’s also a biology lesson too – no two bodies are the same when you are designing clothes,” said Paris.
There are still places available on the Kool Kouture course. Email Judith Paris at info@thriftycouture.co.uk for more information.
