A pair of events designed to raise awareness around sustainable fashion and upcycling while showcasing the creativity of new and emerging designers will head to Coventry this month.
Coventry City of Culture Trust is set to bring two eco-friendly fashion showcases to the city centre next week. Local creators will be teaming up with industry professionals to host a runway show featuring upcycled creations before the next generation show off their designs at a major competition.
World-renowned creative artist Jeanefer Jean-Charles who choreographed the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and designer Marsha Roddy who has designed for theatre, opera and film have partnered with Coventry City of Culture Trust to host Haus of Kraft Presents: Beneath the Seams at Assembly Festival Garden on Tuesday, 26 April.
Junk Kouture, the world’s largest youth sustainable fashion competition, then heads to the same location on Wednesday, 27 April as part of its UK debut.
Directed and designed by Jean-Charles and Roddy, Haus of Kraft: Beneath the Seams will showcase the creations of a group of Coventry-based refugees, migrants, and individuals currently out of work, which have been crafted with expert help at community workshops in partnership with Fab-Lab Coventry over the last eight months.
The Haus of Kraft collective has worked together to create a fashion performance spectacle featuring mostly waste textiles and sustainable materials in response to the global impact of fast fashion.
The performance, which is a highly visual dance-fashion show with original music from DJ Walde (ZooNation) and new poetry inspired by six local and international writing commissions, will take place at the Queen of Flanders, the world’s biggest Spiegeltent currently situated in the Assembly Festival Garden, from 7.30pm.
It will be followed by an afterparty with local drag queens, artist meet and greet, and music from local DJs Selextorhood.
The event is supported by funding from Spirit of 2012, the British Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. In partnership with Fab Lab Coventry and supported by Coventry College.
To welcome Junk Kouture to the UK for the first time, primary school children from Coventry will have the chance to show off their creative designs in a sustainable fashion parade, before secondary school finalists share their creations for the first time in Coventry, with plans to develop the event into a multi-school competition in 2023.
The event, which is supported by funding from Spirit of 2012, the British Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, aims to give young people the platform to push their creative boundaries and generate lasting positive change through creativity and fashion.
The Coventry event will be attended by designers and previous Junk Kouture winners.
Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director at Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “Next week our discussion will focus on our green futures and these two events will focus on fashion, recycling culture and our relationship with fabrics, design and image.
“Connecting citizens of all ages and backgrounds with internationally renowned artists and organisations to express their creativity will get the debate started about the importance of sustainable fashion for our planet’s future.
“I’d like to thank the Haus of Kraft team and Junk Kouture for their support in helping to make these events a reality after a long time in the making, and congratulate all participants on the work they have produced and will now have the chance to share with the city and a global fashion audience.”
For more information and tickets to Haus of Kraft: Beneath the Seams, visit https://coventry2021.co.uk/what-s-on/haus-of-kraft-presents-beneath-the-seams/
For more information about Junk Kouture, visit https://coventry2021.co.uk/what-s-on/haus-of-kraft-welcomes-junk-kouture/