Burberry Donates Surplus Fabrics To Fashion Students

Established in 2020 in partnership with the British Fashion Council, the ReBurberry Fabric initiative promotes a circular economy, whereby Burberry donates surplus fabrics to fashion students, allowing materials to be upcycled, saving them from going to waste. And today, the beloved British brand has announced its second donation to the programme.

To date, the initiative has donated over 12,000 meters of fabric from past Burberry collections to more than 30 fashion schools and universities up and down the U.K. —from the Edinburgh College of Art to the University of Brighton. Here, there’s a belief: to enhance creativity and reduce waste. Students are encouraged to have a 360 degree creative vision, not only one that encompasses their designs but also when it comes to sourcing materials, production and operational methods, to set a forward-thinking, sustainable approach that’ll provide a blueprint for the fashion industry.

“We are committed to supporting the next generation of exciting creatives while ensuring we all do what we can to protect the environment. We’re proud to be working with the British Fashion Council once more to help emerging diverse talent achieve their ambitions, while reinforcing the importance of sustainable practices and circularity. By equipping students with these materials and tools to help their creativity thrive, we can all create a better future for our industry.” Nicole Lovett, Responsibility Programme Director, Burberry

“One of the BFC’s priorities is to encourage the industry to move towards a circular fashion economy while supporting excellence in fashion design. We are delighted to work with Burberry, helping ensure students across the country have access to the best quality fabrics. Creative talent is at the heart of the industry and we are proud of our world-leading colleges – being able to provide these students with such opportunities is a privilege.” Caroline Rush, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council

The students have also fully embraced the programme, as it allows them to work with various fabrics while evolving their circular economy mindset that, in turn, can be applied to their future businesses.

“For me, the most important aspect of the initiative would be that it allows students like myself to work with fabrics they wouldn’t have had access to before. As new designers, we want to be working with as many different types of fabrics as possible in our experiments and in the trialling stages. Along with being very wasteful, this process can be really limited and hard to do when keeping to a budget. This initiative allows students to cut down on the existing waste and provides us with more materials to work with, which I think is so important.” Georgia Bate, 1st Year B.A. (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies student at the University of Brighton

“Having access to this fabric allowed me to experiment and be more ambitious with my ideas and execution, which in turn created a final outcome I was extremely proud of. The main idea of this initiative has inspired me to try and design with less waste as well as to try and use deadstock fabrics and other pre-existing materials more.” Leila Eskandary-Miles, 1st Year B.A. (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies student at the University of Brighton

“Fabric is one of the most vital elements within design. It is the base. This initiative allowed me to experiment – draping stretch wool and combining it with my handwoven and braided rope into a one of-a-kind creation. In the future, thanks to this initiative, I will be working with a more sustainable approach, repurposing and continuing to use deadstock materials.” Cayley Cochrane, 3rd Year B.A. (Hons) Fashion student at Edinburgh College of Art

“This initiative was an opportunity to experiment and be creative without the burden of cost associated with using high-quality materials. Burberry’s donation allowed me to experiment without bounds. For an aspiring designer, it’s reassuring to know that luxury fashion brands are actively looking to support young creatives in the industry.” Luca McCarry, 1st Year B.A. (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies student at the University of Brighton

Learn more about the BFC initiatives here.