“I feel I’ve been guided and pushed by my tutors and the opportunities presented to me throughout the course but have also felt a great sense of freedom to explore my own styles.”
Please tell us a bit about your work and your influences
Zesty Reworks is a platform that connects brands holding excess textile waste with up and coming designers to produce exclusive reworked collections. As someone who began reworking clothing as a hobby in my spare time, I was aware of the growing rework industry and the number of small brands producing wonderful, reworked collections. The aim of my platform, however, is to target those brands that need external help to lower their landfill waste. I noticed a gap in the market for a platform that can help brands holding textile waste become more sustainable through connecting them with designers that can rework and upcycle their textile waste into unique collections.
My visual style is often influenced by physical, tactile approaches such as screen printing and hand draw typography. I enjoy styles that reflect a hand-made process and channel the original sentiment, I often include paper ephemera and found objects in my creative imagery.
How have you found your course and time at Brighton?
Moving to Brighton was one of the best decisions I’ve made, the city inspires me in one way or another every day. Since starting at the University of Brighton I have met so many incredible people who have helped shape me and influence me creatively. I feel I’ve been guided and pushed by my tutors and the opportunities presented to me throughout the course but have also felt a great sense of freedom to explore my own styles.
How did you choose your course – why did you choose to study Fashion Comms?
I decided to join the fashion comms course because I wasn’t yet sure what career avenue I wanted to venture down. I began looking into the fashion design and textile courses but soon realised the creative processes I enjoyed most weren’t the physical making of clothing but practises that communicate fashion. My course was perfect for me as it delves into such a broad range of skills such as Photography, Styling, Branding, Promotion, Graphic Design and Film Making. I was able to test out all these areas without committing to one major which meant by the time I reached final year I knew my strengths and what areas I enjoyed most. Another key reason for choosing Fashion Communication with Business Studies was because the course offers an optional placement year in industry. It was very important for me to travel abroad and work in the industry which is what I managed to do during my placement year. I spent 3 months in Berlin working for a sustainable magazine called Luxiders which was an amazing moment for me and shaped me as an individual even more.
What are your plans after graduation?
In the short term, I plan to travel Europe with my friends and take incredible amounts of film photos between us. We want to bridge the gap between leaving Uni and entering the working world! After this I want to get a job in a creative communication role while continuing Zesty Reworks and collaborating with more brands on the side.
Find out more about BA(Hons) Fashion Communication with Business Studies
