The National Festival of Making returns this weekend (8,9), and fashionistas are in for a treat. This year’s festival is set to highlight the fascinating fusion of artistry and style, providing visitors with unique opportunities to explore fashion in innovative and engaging ways.
On Saturday at 2pm, Blackburn college will be hosting a fashion show at Victoria Court in The Mall. The fashion show will showcase and celebrate collections encompassing womenswear, menswear, and gender-fluid designs. It’s an excellent opportunity for visitors to witness emerging talent and get a glimpse of the latest trends in the fashion world.
In the vibrant Dirty Faces Cinema space, attendees can discover a pop-up shop hosted by Blackburn’s, ‘Me To a Tee.’ Renowned for its vast collection of vintage clothing, ‘Me to a Tee’ offers visitors the chance to browse through a trove of the finest second-hand threads from the Northern region.
Another highlight of the festival is the ‘Community Clothing pop-up shop,’ where visitors can peruse a curated collection of high-quality everyday clothing crafted in Blackburn and throughout the UK. To add to the excitement, the founder of Community Clothing and esteemed judge of The Great British Sewing Bee, Patrick Grant, will be making appearances in the shop throughout the weekend giving fans the opportunity to meet and greet this fashion icon in person.
For those with a passion for craftsmanship and sustainability of all skill levels, there will also be workshops to take part in across the weekend. ‘Celebrating repairs’ will invite visitors to bring in an unwearable item of clothing and teach them how to transform it into a stunning piece of art using the traditional embroidery technique known as ‘Sashiko.’ They can also take part in the ‘subtraction pattern cutting’ workshop; led by experienced fashion design staff from UCLAN, this workshop introduces participants to the highly creative and fast-paced method of pattern cutting. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned fashionista, this workshop promises to expand your design horizons.
To find out more and see the whole festival programme see here.
