14 Sep Free Monthly Upcycling Workshops Commence at FC Designer Collective

On Tuesday 12th September, Fashion-Enter Ltd hosted an upcycling class in partnership with Islington Council from 10 – 5pm which was a great start to the exciting monthly residency which will carry through to March 2024 at the FC Designer Collective shop on Fonthill Road.

Gee and Leyla from the FEL team assisted the group of 18 attendees, 5 of which were unemployed, with upcycling, mentoring and advice was provided on career progression, courses available, how to prepare for interviews and next steps in career’s and education.  

Three student’s that had attended the previous upcycling workshop held at the FC Designer Workspace last month, loved it so much that they attended Tuesday’s class and brought in a variety of their own different items.

It is a well known fact that fashion industry is the second dirtiest polluter on the planet today. Last year, according to the Roundup.org, up to 100 billion garments were produced by the fashion industry and as much as 92 million tons of clothing end up in landfill on an annual basis. Only 20% of textiles are collected for reuse or recycling globally and almost 60% of all clothing material is actually plastic. FEL is determined to do something about these worrying facts, so let’s start with the clothing and textiles people already own.

It’s great to witness circular fashion, most of the items brought along to the drop-in were purchased from charity shops, the clothing either had minor flaws or didn’t completely sit right on the body until they were successfully created into something perfect.

It is so important to continue to teach these free upcycling and repairs, there were 5 people that are currently unemployed that were openly grateful to have access to free experience within the fashion/ textiles industry.

We had members of the public drop in to find out more about the courses Fashion-Enter offers and to take a look at the current collections in the shop created by local community of Islington.

Gee said: “Feedback from the day was really good, with nearly all saying they would visit again and recommend to someone else. Some had never used an industrial machine so we helped them practice before going ahead with their upcycling.”

The next date for these drop-in repair and upcycling workshops at the FC Designer Collective is Tuesday 17th October followed by:

14th November 

12th December

16th January

13th February

19th March (London Repair Week)



Please come along on the above dates with a garment you wish to repair/upcycle to FC Designer Collective, 113-115 Fonthill Road, London N4 between 10am – 5pm.