Circular Design Challenge: 6 Fashion Designers To Watch

Maximilian Raynor works with deadstock luxury materials, locally-sourced British wool roll ends, and vegan apple leather to create whimsical, circular designs. Going one step further, Raynor examines previous collections’ waste and explores ways to transform it into new fabric, while also employing cutting techniques that reduce waste at the source.

The label’s iconic dagger collar shirt has been seen on Chappell Roan and Lady Gaga.

Anciela, by Jennifer Droguett Espinosa, is a circular fashion brand that focuses on waste reduction, textile innovation, and community engagement.

Designs are exquisite; both for their use of vintage and luxury deadstock fabrics, and the flouncy elegance of the pieces themselves.

Anciela offers made-to-order garments to eliminate overproduction and offers a take-back and refresh scheme to extend the life of each garment whilst educating the community on responsible consumption practices.

Adam Jones is an idiosyncratically British brand, full of nostalgia from the country’s past, celebrating the humour in the history of our tiny island, from the eccentric to the mundane, the kitsch to the kinky.

Garments are designed and made in London, using vintage found materials, such as bar towels from pubs, tea towels found in home kitchens, and vintage blankets. All garments are either made from second-hand materials or made using 100% recycled material.

Kazna Asker is a fashion designer creating around the values of community, activism and charity. She expresses political activism through fashion, using deadstock fabrics, discarded garments, and textile waste to create new designs, whilst focusing on small-batch productions to avoid overstock and waste. The label aims to empower women, particularly those from marginalised communities, by incorporating traditional embroidery and hand-sewn details to preserve artisanal practices like embroidery and weaving.

Paolo Carzana is a Welsh designer working with plant based, recycled, organic and repurposed materials, as well as natural dyes.

Carzana’s garments explore the tensions between strength and fragility, with nods to past fables and present experiences.

Pinanki by Pinanki Shah is a London-based womenswear brand employing a unique blend of craft-based, minimal-waste practices.

Pinanki is inspired by the dress and life of a woman in the precolonial era, resulting in garments that are not only visually freeing but also environmentally intentional.

Nearly all of Pinanki’s silhouettes are zero waste and ‘free’ size, serving the wearer in all stages of life.

Surplus fabrics from the design process are transformed into unique accessories such as belts, bags, and delicate garment details like shoulder straps, and pullers.