ZARAMIAAVA showcasing at the Kirkstall Art Trail Fashion Show

After the success of last year’s event, we were delighted to participate in this summer’s Kirkstall Art Trail Fashion Show.

This year, participants were invited to create looks from pre-loved items bought at any charity shop. We show-cased our work on a catwalk in Kirkstall Abbey, celebrating local creativity, skill and the wonderful possibilities of sustainable clothing design.

Local designers took part, bringing their skill and ingenuity to the challenge. We used upholstery and curtain fabrics to produce structured garments that had drama and style.

As always, the catwalk show was the highlight of the project and the beautiful, ancient setting provided a stunning and memorable backdrop. It was great to see our looks worn by our volunteer models who did a great job despite the difficult weather.

The design process was great fun but it did have its challenges, as we had deliberately chosen fabrics that took us out of our comfort zone with their patterns, colours and weight. We featured some tartan Laura Ashley curtains that gave Vivienne Westwood vibes and clashed well with the gold leaf upholstery fabric we had found. We adapted our patterns from past collections to produce dresses with our signature structure and drape, adding jackets, scarfs and belts to complete the looks. D-Rings were added throughout the garments to show details and give a clash to the structured look.

We love that sustainability underpinned this event. It was a great opportunity to promote creativity and prompt people to think differently about fashion.  

Thank you to our models, and the organisers for a fun and meaningful show.