A GARMENT for rough sleepers has been created by students in York following a partnership between MLA and York College Fashion Department.
For the second year running, Michael Lupton, has given the fashion and clothing students a brief for their final major project, which this year was inspired by the ‘Fashioned from Nature’ exhibition at the V&A Museum in London. The brief was to design and make a collection of garments for an identified target market. Michael identified rough sleepers.
The brief was to design a multi-functional garment that would help create comfortable living conditions for the homeless. The garment needed to be heavy duty to ensure it could still function, easy to dry off and waterproof.
Wendy Waterfield was the winner after creating the BivvyBag and received a cheque from Michael Lupton at the final year fashion show. The BivvyBag was a rucksack, which could be turned into a sleeping bag. There was a built-in stuffer pocket which acted as a pillow as well as hidden pockets to add to the security of the bag.
The product was also designed to be adapted to suit other situations such as people fleeing natural or political disasters overseas and even for people camping at festivals.
This is the second year MLA has worked with students studying BA Hons Fashion Design and Production at York College. Lauren Dodd, won last years MLA prize and has since gone on to work with the design team at MLA.