From the bottle to the top: UK Fashion student wows with single-use plastic collection

Potentially featuring plastic bottles or lids that you once threw away, Radka Blazickova’s debut single-use plastic fashion collection has swerved the attention of Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) style gurus.

Radka, a third-year Textiles for Fashion student at the University of Northampton, showcased her creative plastic creations at GFW London to raise awareness of fast fashion and the plight against plastic pollution.

 

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A post shared by Radka Blazickova (@designe_r_) on Jun 4, 2019 at 11:53pm PDT

“So many people use a plastic bottle just once before throwing it away and I wanted to show that every single part can have a second use, by making something creative from a ‘waste product’,” she explains.

Inspiring fashion students everywhere to use their final piece to project a real-world dilemma, not only does Radka’s collection draw attention to the destructive habits of fast fashion, it also shows us how a handful of wasted plastics can create a magnificent collection of clothes.

From full-length coats to a waistcoat and a couple of bags, there is unlimited hope for the second-use of these forgotten items!

 

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A post shared by Radka Blazickova (@designe_r_) on Mar 5, 2019 at 1:33pm PST

Why is it so important to draw attention to plastic pollution?

Firstly, there’s no denying the facts.

If you’ve taken a look at the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, it’s known that human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with no signs of stopping.

And when it comes to plastic pollution, it also predicts a losing battle.

“Today, single-use plastics account for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years,” National Geographic elucidates.

Suffocating sea creatures and masking the planet’s natural beauty, plastic is a manmade monster that needs to be tamed.

So, when a fashion student chooses to take her graduate moment of glory to give a second chance to castaway plastics, it’s both inventive and inspirational.

 

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A post shared by Radka Blazickova (@designe_r_) on Jun 16, 2019 at 1:07pm PDT

From the above designs, you can see the level of detail that went into Radka’s creations.

Passing off as a high-end fashion outfit, her collection made many spectators question the price people pay to stay stylish and to maintain a fleeting wardrobe of one-wear outfits.

Even high-street retailers are to blame, with rapid transitions of the latest trends, shopping for the latest fashion becomes a habitual occurrence.

 

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A post shared by Radka Blazickova (@designe_r_) on Jun 1, 2019 at 3:22pm PDT

So, the next time you discard plastic bottles or choose to throw away a bundle of clothes, consider their second use and where they will end up.

From Radka’s catwalk collection to a DIY creation of your own, there’s always another way to remodel that item!

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