Knitwear students Nottingham Trent University collaborate with Celtic & Co.

UK educational institution Nottingham Trent University (NTU) recently teamed up with fashion brand Celtic & Co. and knitwear supplier Robert Todd.

The students of the bachelor programme in fashion knitwear design and the bachelor programme in knitted textiles created new designs from old Celtic & Co. clothing samples provided by Robert Todd and used these as the basis for creating and manufacturing their collections.

Students presented their final designs in front of a jury that consisted of product teams at both Robert Todd and Celtic & Co., The judging panel chose a top three and a designer that won the competition overall.

Student Yang XiXi was named the overall winner with her project entitled ‘Into the blue, embrace the joy’. She repurposed one of Celtic & Co.’s cable boyfriend cardigans, using a mix of cable knit, fair isle, hand knitting and crochet techniques to create five new knitwear designs.

The other students in the top three were George Light who was praised by the jury for his Guernsey inspired cable knits, and Emma Gillie, who created a collection based on a rewilding concept.

Finally, student Catherine Brodie was highly commended for the collection she created.

Upcycling knitwear: Students Nottingham Trent University team up with Celtic & Co.

Course leader of fashion knitwear design and knitted textiles at Nottingham Trent University, Helen Hill, commented on the collaboration in a statement, saying: “Our second-year students have gained valuable industry experience working on this live project with Celtic & Co. and Robert Todd.”

“The project provided them with an opportunity to explore sustainable solutions whilst designing a unique knitwear collection for the Celtic & Co. brand," she continued.

“It introduced the students to the industry and provided them with an awareness of knitwear design within a commercial context and specific market requirements.”

“It’s fantastic to see how their confidence has grown when communicating and engaging with industry. We were delighted with the final outcomes and the students have thoroughly enjoyed it,” the educator concluded.