Partnering with Reebok, we sponsored four students from Plymouth College of Art and gifted them early access to the brand’s Slice silhouette. We gave the group the creative freedom to transform the model as they pleased, reinterpreting them to fit in with their collection and showcase the recently revived Reebok Slice to the crowd of onlookers. We caught up with those involved to find out a little bit more about their collections and where they hope postgraduate life will lead them…

Millie Kelly: @milliekellyfashion

“For my dissertation, I decided to wear a jumpsuit for a whole month to test whether I could manage with less and research whether I’d be happier without choice. I started to miss skirts, as wearing a jumpsuit meant I was wearing trousers all the time, which can obviously be quite restrictive.”

“So for my collection, I designed all the bottoms so they can be worn as both trousers and skirts, depending on the way you wrap them. I also created bibs, which you can attach to the trouser/skirt to make it into a pinafore or dungarees. I wanted to show that we don’t need lots of different garments and that we can all just use one outfit that can be worn in many different ways.”

“As soon as I got the Slices and saw the plain canvas colour, I immediately thought: ‘Right, these can be dyed, where’s my bucket!’. I overdyed them in an indigo shade and used the offcut scraps from my clothing to make new laces. I wanted to go for an excessive flowing design and match the colours used throughout my pieces.”

“After university, I really want to start my own brand because I feel like my idea of the interchangeable overall is something that is missing from the fashion sphere and I’ve found that so many people are interested in this way of wearing their clothes. If I do pursue my clothing line, I’d love to be placed in Plymouth as I see it as a really up and coming area and I’m really excited about being based there.”

Jenni Claire Moorby: @jc_fashion__

“My collection has two halves to it. The first is a homage and celebration of the wonderful ‘80s queer fashion; the other half is all about sustainability, traceability and transparency.”

“My garments all have QR codes on them; when you can hold up your phone to them, it takes you through to a website which will tell you all the traceability information. I’ve tried to, where possible, use British manufactured fabrics. I’ve done this because I feel it’s really important not only to limit the number of air miles that it travels but to also support our local industries and celebrate the things our country does brilliantly.”

“With a focus on sustainability, I had a lot of offcuts of fabrics that were weird shapes but I decided to keep them anyway as I knew they would come in at some point. So to limit my waste, I used the leftover fabrics and cut them into the shape of the Slice’s toe and heel bumpers, and hand-stitched prints straight onto the tongue to complement the garments in my collection.”

“After university, I would love to be a pattern cutter. I also think it’s really important to work for a company that cares for its local community, the planet, the people that it indirectly affects, and is actually conscientious on how everything we do has a knock-on effect on the wider community.”

“There’s also maybe a sneaky plan in the pipeline for carrying on my fashion line, it’s something I’m looking into at the moment, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Catherine Jeffries: @catjfashion

“I based my collection on ‘lad’ culture stemming from the ‘80s and looked at a lot of terrace and casual films, like ‘The Firm’, to try and get a feeling for the styles that they wore. I noticed a lot of over-exaggerated logos across the clothing and that wearing the clothes was a way to feel a part of the brand. I wanted to take branding into my own collection and use this big logo influence within my ‘Bloke’ brand.”

“For my Slice’s, I wanted to feature the colours that flowed throughout my collection. I used a lot of buckles and decided to use bold neon one straps, with reflective detailing to make them really stand out and give a sporty vibe. I felt like the classic Reebok design already fit in nicely with my theme, so I didn’t want to change too much but still have my elements running through.”

“Following on from Uni, I’m looking to work as a junior designer, or within branding, as I feel I’ve really taken that skill upon myself when creating my own collection. I’m unsure if I’ll pursue my ‘Bloke’ brand, a lot of people have said I should, but I know it needs a lot more development. If I did carry it on, it would probably have more of streetwear focus and less of a high-fashion aesthetic.”

Jade Rogers: @jade__fashion

“My collection takes influence from being tall and exploring the perspectives of really tall structures and I wanted to find a way to replicate these silhouettes within my fabrics. I have a background in studying mechanical engineering, so I have an understanding of structure and form and the way things are put together, which really inspired my work.”

“Because of the height element of my collection, I wanted to extenuate this influence within the Slice silhouette. I wanted the shoes to align with my clothing, so applying large platforms to the bottom helped to fit in with my theme.”

“After university, I’d love to have a career in a pattern cutting industry. I feel that’s where my strengths lie and my background in engineering helps me to be suited to this.”