A graduate from Kingston University has won an award in the Graduate Fashion Foundation 2021 Awards for the Considered Fashion Prize, which addresses sustainability and responsible design.

Mimi Simpson, 21, created a sustainable and gender-fluid collection using reclaimed clothing and upholstery collected from charity shop Mary's Living and Giving in Teddington and donations received from the wider Kingston community.

Mimi said: "I had a year out before my degree and one of the places I worked was Pringle of Scotland.

"It was very sustainability focused and that made me think I really want to do something that helps, so then I went to a charity shop called Mary Living and Giving in Teddington and I started speaking to the people there.

"They had this huge archive in the back full of amazing stuff that couldn't really be used anymore because it might, for example, have a small moth hole in it, but they didn't want to just throw it away.

"Of course it's a charity shop as well so I thought that was a good way to be sustainable.

"I started volunteering there and they said I could use their waste products for my collection.

"That helped them out as it put their products to good use and It meant that I wasn't just buying clothes from a charity shop that could've helped someone who might have needed it more.

"When the second lockdown hit I couldn't be in the shop helping them out and getting the products from there as much so I then went to the Kingston Neighbourhood group chat and asked for things as I realised that no one could go to charity shops anymore.

"I collected interior fabrics from curtains or chairs, which made me think; during lockdown we've been around all this furniture that makes us feel comfortable, maybe I can use that in a smarter, more elevated way.

"A challenge that I had to overcome was making sure the silhouette not only fit the traditional female body, male body or non binary silhouette.

"It was more that the clothes could be for an individual person and that they could mix and match the pieces as well.

Wendy Baker, Senior Lecturer of the Fashion BA (Hons) course said: "We are immensely proud of all our students this year and Mimi Simpson is no exception.

"Mimi spent time establishing a relationship with the charity shop in Teddington where she sourced her fabrics.

"This gave her collection a strong personal point of view on sustainability, and this is what made her collection stand out from others in the category."

Mimi is now looking to enter into a career specialising in sustainable fashion and has plans to work on her range to sell it to a mass market.