Last weekend, after 5 months of planning and preparation, we hosted Brighton's first ever Sustainable Fashion Week at the iconic Brighton Dome. It was a massive success! We had a very busy sustainable pop up market, massive clothes swap, inspiring panel talks and films, a micro citizens assembly on how to tackle the textile waste problem in the local area, a packed workshop program, Repair Cafe (sponsored by ChangeX) plus incredible runways showcasing local sustainable designers.
The numbers from the weekend tell an amazing story:
♻️ 2000+ people attended the event over the two days
♻️ 60 people attended our sewing/upcycling/mending workshops
♻️ 31 garments were mended in our Repair Cafe
♻️ 766 garments came in to the swap
♻️ 505 garments from the swap went to new homes

We also managed to make some noise with national press with:
- a featured article in the Independent and several other local news outlets (thanks to PA Media Group): https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/bristol-papua-new-guinea-brighton-frome-manchester-b2421597.html
- an iTV Meridian news interview about the event: https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2023-10-01/brightons-first-sustainable-fashion-week-calls-for-a-rewear-revolution

Here are a few photos from the repair cafe and workshops!

Last weekend, after 5 months of planning and preparation, we hosted Brighton's first ever Sustainable Fashion Week at the iconic Brighton Dome. It was a massive success! We had a very busy sustainable pop up market, massive clothes swap, inspiring panel talks and films, a micro citizens assembly on how to tackle the textile waste problem in the local area, a packed workshop program, Repair Cafe (sponsored by ChangeX) plus incredible runways showcasing local sustainable designers.
The numbers from the weekend tell an amazing story:
♻️ 2000+ people attended the event over the two days
♻️ 60 people attended our sewing/upcycling/mending workshops
♻️ 31 garments were mended in our Repair Cafe
♻️ 766 garments came in to the swap
♻️ 505 garments from the swap went to new homes

We also managed to make some noise with national press with
- a featured article in the Independent and several other local news outlets (thanks to PA Media Group): https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/bristol-papua-new-guinea-brighton-frome-manchester-b2421597.html
- an iTV Meridian news interview about the event: https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2023-10-01/brightons-first-sustainable-fashion-week-calls-for-a-rewear-revolution

Action plan:

Timeline: We started our project with a kickoff meeting in May with the hopes of delivering our first event in September. We are having monthly meetings up until the month before the event when we will meet weekly. We've got a hard deadline of the middle of July to lockdown all our program offerings.  

Budget: We've set aside a budget to pay our repair hosts £150 per day (across the two day event). We also will use the seed funds to help cover the cost of the space of where the Repair Cafe will take place (The Brighton Dome). 



Impact:  This project will bring together diverse communities from across Brighton & Hove. It will be an opportunity for groups to connect and share knowledge. Through clothes swaps, sustainable fashion shows and repair workshops we will create a collaborative network that will share and promote practical environmental solutions. We have established links with 6 schools, 2 community centres, 2 day centres for older people and 15 community organisations. In total we are planning events across 10 locations in the lead up to the main two day function to which everyone will be invited. By addressing a big environmental issue, the project will bring together charities, businesses and sustainability organisations. It will offer accessible learning opportunities in a fun and creative setting with music and refreshments. The project will engage people who are new to volunteering and give them the skills and confidence to achieve jobs and other roles in community settings.

Location: Brighton Dome. Booked for the 30/09 - 01/10. First and second billing milestone paid!