What happens when you let three fashion students loose in a room full of denim?

Print student Pip mentally traveled to San Francisco in the 70s through the music of Patrick Cowley, the DJ who supplied the beats to queer culture of the time and even soundtracked adult films. This inspired the designer to research vintage gay porn magazines, parts of which he scanned and reworked into prints. “It looks noisy and tie-dye ‒ I wanted to bring the sounds and the psychedelic colours of the time back to life.”

“I wanted to create the perfect combination of historical shapes with a modern silhouette.” – Juntae Kim

Fellow time-traveler Juntae wants to introduce a new fashion genre, combining menswear and womenswear through historical references. Juxtaposing tradition and functionality, the designer found inspiration in historical costumes and artworks from the Rococo and Baroque periods and adapted them to the iconic 501 jeans. “I wanted to create the perfect combination of historical shapes with a modern silhouette.”

Focussing on the future was Charlie. For his pre-collection, the menswear designer started researching adaptability in the context of ever-changing climate conditions. “Instances of extreme weather are becoming more common, even in London,” he explained. “You never know when it will rain.” This translated into a capsule collection where zippers allowed the wearer to transform each piece, changing the volume of the trousers, for example, or exposing shoulders by zipping open the sleeves.

“I believe the most practical approach of tackling sustainability in today’s fashion industry is to extend the life cycle of the product.” – Juntae Kim

All three of the designers had previously worked with repurposed or recycled materials, but using existing garments was a new ballgame for some. “It was a truly sustainable approach, giving new meaning to abandoned products by repairing and reimaging them,” wrote Juntae, who is currently back home in Korea. “I believe the most practical approach of tackling sustainability in today’s fashion industry is to extend the life cycle of the product.” Rather than starting from scratch, the students were challenged to revalue a product no one wanted.

“It felt very exciting, you can’t predict what the final result will look like. There are unexpected waves and ripples, which makes everything richer.” – Pip Paz-Howlett

Similarly, Pip had a habit of bringing home leftovers from the workplace or experimenting with vintage garments but making an entire collection out of existing pieces brought new challenges. Due to the size differences and the subtle variations in the models, it was impossible to standardise the screen-printed designs. “It felt very exciting, you can’t predict what the final result will look like. There are unexpected waves and ripples, which makes everything richer.”

Ultimately, the approach contributes to his sustainable design philosophy. Even if the artwork is the same, each print will be different, leaving each customer with a design that is unique, and therefore more covetable.

Where Pip’s method led to subtle variations between each piece, Charlie wanted the pieces themselves to offer variety. His work on modularity allows for endless experimentation in shape and volume, assuring the wearer won’t get tired of their purchase. “Rather than experimenting with fits, I went for the 501 and had multiple fits in one,” he said. The three creative approaches also prove how a sustainable design ethos translates into an aesthetic one: you can’t separate the creative from their principles. “It is also a sustainable approach to reinterpreting things from the past and juxtapose them on modern things in the present,” said Juntae about his collection.

When you design a collection, there is the initial idea and the development of that concept into a producible product through sketches and fittings. On top of this design process, however, the three masters also had to adapt their vision to the brand’s practical needs. Creatively they were free, but the project still had guidelines.

“It was really fun putting in all my own research and my own ideas, without having to translate it to someone else’s taste,” explained Pip, who spent a couple of years gaining industry experience, at J.W. Anderson among others, before applying to the MA. “It taught me that that is what I want to do. It’s so much easier to wake up in the morning and attack the day. But, there are still restrictions, of course, you can’t play around with the stitches at the top, for example. They are so iconic, there are strict rules about the things you can’t touch. But the creative ideas were all mine.”

“The project really taught me to work for a brand as a collaboration,” added Charlie. “It was down to my direction, but you need to be aware of what the brand needs.” The student was reminded of the many previous collaborations the brand already did, with Vetements for example, so repetitions could be avoided. “Obviously, I didn’t want to reproduce something another label already did, so those restrictions were very helpful.”

Working on the project during the MA also meant additional time pressure on the already busy students. As the studios emptied for summer, the Levi’s crew had just begun sampling. But the additional work wasn’t necessarily stressful, to the contrary, it could be inspiring: “The Levi’sⓇ by Levi’sⓇ project was given halfway through pre-collection, where we have six weeks to create four looks, and it was so much work that I just had to create without thinking too much. I just created, if I didn’t like it, I didn’t use it,” said Pip.

You can discover these beautiful designs in detail at Levi’s Haus London, 41 Great Marlborough St, London, open 11am – 6pm (Mon- Sat) and 12pm – 4pm (Sun). The collection will be available until Monday, October 4th.