Students on our Degree in Hand Embroidery Course joined forces with menswear label E. Tautz to encourage sustainable fashion amongst fashionistas. Launching their new Autumn Winter 2020 Collection, E. Tautz showcased hand embroidery skills to drive a ‘Make do and Mend’ message, highlighting the vital need for sustainability in the world of fashion.

RSN Degree Students worked collectively to create hand embroidered patches from upcycled materials which were darned and mended for the new E. Tautz Collection.  Revealed at London Fashion Week Men’s, the Collection took centre stage with a powerful sustainable fashion message from Patrick Grant, Creative Director at E. Tautz:

“Fashion is a celebration of the joy of creativity and craftsmanship. Our version of Fashion creates clothes that have meaning, clothes that are loved and cherished.  Every piece is made to last. If you love your clothes, wear them until they wear out, and when they do, fix them.  And when your clothes can no longer be fixed, recycle them. We are very grateful to the Royal School of Needlework whose students have resurrected and elevated the skills of needlework to give extra life to our garments.”

A large number of the pieces in the show have been made using textiles recovered from unwanted clothes that were placed in clothing recycling banks across the country. Astco, one of the UK’s largest clothing recyclers, provided an amazing stock of second-hand white cotton shirts, cotton bed linen and denim jeans, from which have provided amazing usable fabric.

Visiting lecturer and textile artist Celia Pym, led darning workshops with the Degree Students to inspire their creativity for this project (lead image shows Celia and Patrick with Degree Students at Hampton Court Palace).

More information about our Degree Course – BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery.

Some of our Degree students’ work is currently on display at the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle as part of a collaboration with visual artist Susan Aldworth called ‘Out of the Blue’.  Read more here.