Welcome to Refashion My Town’s upcycled Denim Design competition! Refashion My Town is a social enterprise based in Chippenham. Our mission is to help and encourage young people to make a positive social and environmental impact through fashion. Our goal is to highlight the impact that fast fashion has on the environment and while doing so, we aim to help young people reduce, reuse, refashion and mend more. And what better way to start is by participating and joining our Upcycled Denim Design Competition!

Why Denim?

Denim has become an integral part of everyday life, but it wasn’t always like that. Denim was long known to be worn by working class individuals such as miners, railroad workers and even labourers, before booming into a fashion trend that had not ceased to stop. Now you see denim worn by nearly everyone across the globe due to its easy and comfortable wear. However, denim has done more than become a global fashion trend, it has also contributed to the slow destruction of the environment. Most demin products are made with an overwhelmingly large number of dyes that are highly toxic and damaging. Denim also relies on cotton that needs lots of water and pesticides to grow. Pesticides are harmful to human health and can become an environmental risk but that is just one part of the problem.

The production of one pair of jeans could require up to 80 gallons of water which is around 360 litres. This is a lot! This is why here at Refashion my Town, we want young people to reduce, reuse, refashion and mend more to combat the issues the fashion industry has on society and environment.

Our upcycled Denim design competition is open to 14-18 year olds on Friday 22nd April 2022 and submissions will close on Monday 5th September 2022.

This competition requires you to EITHER:

A. A 3-minute video explaining the concept, inspiration, and idea of your upcycled denim design. We would like to see a mock-up of your design within your presentation, as well as before and after of the material used. You can also include a completed final product or garment but this is optional.

B. 1 x A3 sheet with design concept 1 x A3 sheet with design development 1 x A3 sheet with final design including before and after Mock-up of final design ( Final product - optional ).

Please note: this is a design ( NOT sewing ) competition, so entries will mainly be judged based on creative flair and out of the box thinking, rather than technical sewing skills. So play and have fun developing your ideas.

There will be FIVE judges of the competition:

• Liz Alstrom - Mayor of Chippenham

• Rachel Sheila Kan - Founder, Circular earth

• Yvonne Skelton - Head of textiles, Bath College

• Melissa Barnett - Curator, Chippenham Museum

• Tricia Morris - Mending and Upcycling Expert, Morrissews.

All entrants have access to materials and trimmings from Refashion My Town. Refashion My Town will also have FREE drop-in sessions every Friday at 3.30 - 5 pm, starting 29th April, to help entrants develop their ideas and if necessary, learn new skills to complete their entries.