Scotland’s fashion designer talent need more opportunities and support according to a creative consultant and fashion influencer.
Dundee-based Howey Ejegi has worked with some of the biggest names in fashion around the world.
This year, he’s hosting the Scotland Re:Design fashion festival in Dundee; it aims to promote local talents and open conversations about sustainability in the fashion industry.
He told STV News: “Scottish designers are doing quite good. We know of popular designers like Hayley Scanlan from Dundee who was on a Netflix show.
“She’s doing incredible and inspires a lot of young designers. But when it comes to Scotland, we really need to push our home grown talent.
“But in the whole of the country, Scotland doesn’t get a lot of traction when it comes to fashion. Everything happens down south.
“To have Scottish Re:Design give a platform to young designers and talented designers to express themselves and give them extra leverage to go beyond to do more I feel it’s absolutely amazing and I feel honoured to be a part of it.”
For the second year running, the event has teamed up with Shelter Scotland’s Fashion for Social Change Award.
Designers are challenged to make outfits from items found in the charity’s retail shops which represent the housing crisis.
Richard Hudson from the charity said: “Every 16 minutes a household becomes homeless in Scotland and every day 45 children lose their homes.
“If you look back in history, fashion has always been a way for people to express themselves.
“We believe with this collection which features sustainability and helps fight the housing emergency it helps people stand up for what they believe in.”
Lauren Malcolm, a recent fashion graduate, says her item centres around a lack of social housing.
“There’s inspiration from stereotypical builders wear and corporate wear,” she said.
“Representing the building industry and politics. The outfit is dysfunctional and haphazard and not fit for purpose.”
The Scotland Re:Design Festival will be running work shops and talks in Dundee until November 26.
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