H&M teams up with fashion students at Beckmans School of Design in Sweden to launch a one-of-a-kind upcycled collection that will be auctioned off to benefit UNICEF.

For the first time ever, H&M has teamed up with Beckmans School of Design in Sweden to work on a project to raise awareness around sustainability and the power of upcycling. This comes on the heels of the fast fashion retailer being one of few large fashion brands signing an industry agreement aimed at preventing future garment factory disasters.

One of the winning designs by Leonard Kocic

Thirteen design students were given a week to design unique outfits made from recycled garments collected through H&M’s takeback program, launched earlier this year. A jury consisting of H&M’s own Margareta van den Bosch and Catarina Midby as well as Swedish fashion industry insiders judged them on how well they pulled off a design that was sustainable, wearable and high fashion.

One of the winning designs by Jonna Ru

“It’s been a fun project and exciting to see how the students in a playful way created unexpected outfits that are very fashionable and of the moment,” says van den Bosch. “The winners have been very creative and thought of sustainability when they’ve, for example, used a maximum of two recycled garments in the creation of their design in order to avoid textile waste. One example is a bomber jacket that was turned into a dress by repurposing the lining.”

The winners were Jonna Ru, Leonard Kocic och Malin Unga, whose outfits will be exhibited at H&M’s flagship store in Stockholm for a week before being auctioned off on Swedish site Tradera. All proceeds will be donated to UNICEF, and H&M will also match the winning bids.

One of the winning designs by Malin Unga

“With this collaboration we want people to realize that you already have the very latest right in your closet,” says Pär Engsheden, project manager at Beckmans School of Design. “With just a few simple adjustments you can create tomorrow’s trends, and that’s what these students have shown with this design project.” So, next time you feel like buying something at H&M, just repurpose something from your closet instead!

Images courtesy of H&M

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