Shrewsbury fashion designer brings old fabrics back to life

In her studio, the young fashion designer uses a combination of second-hand and natural fibre fabrics to create a range of one-of-a-kind clothing and accessories.

Her commitment to the environment means that the 22-year-old ensures there is a never any waste – even the tiniest scraps of fabric are used to make something new.

“The textile industry is one of the biggest polluters out of everything. The problem with creating clothing and accessories is that if you buy a metre of fabric there will always be a bit of it that you don’t use,” says Had, who lives in Shrewsbury.

“I make sure I use every bit of fabric I have. Since I started the brand, I have never thrown away any fabric. I work work even the smallest pieces of fabric into different pieces,” she explains.

While Had was studying for A-levels in fine art, graphic design and photography at Ludlow College in 2019, she launched an Etsy shop selling linocut prints and pin badges.

Had taught herself how to design patterns which could be printed onto fabric. “I thought I’d like to make something from that. My nan taught me to knit when I was a child but I had never learned how to sew.

“One of my friends taught me the very basics and I picked the rest up by watching tutorials online,” she says.

Pencil cases and tote bags were among her first creations and she started to sell items to make space for new pieces. “It was a fun thing to do with my spare time, I just enjoyed making things. I was making more than I had space to keep and I started to sell them because I didn’t need them,” explains Had.

After leaving college in 2020, she launched her first clothing collection and since then the business, which she took full-time in January 2021, has continued to grow.

Her pieces, which are all made by hand, are stocked in a number of shops around the country and in 2022, her products were also stocked in John Lewis as part of the Curated Makers Pop-Up shop.

Had loves looking for fabric in second-hand stores and charity shops and also uses natural fibre fabrics such as cotton, bamboo and linen, which are sourced as locally as possible. “I make sure that everything I buy that is new is made from natural fibres,” she says.

Anything with bright colours, fun prints, floral patterns and gingham is likely to attract her attention. And when it comes to deciding what to make, Had lets the size and style of the material guide her creativity. “If I’ve only got a small piece of fabric, there aren’t so many possibilities, it might become a hair scrunchie.

“If I’ve got a bigger piece of fabric, then it’s what comes to me when I look at it. I might look at the fabric and think that is perfect for a dress or it would make the perfect top.

“If it’s a floaty fabric that lends itself more to a piece of clothing, and if it’s something a bit more structural, then it’s a bag or an outerwear piece,” she explains.

Had also uses techniques such as patchworking to combine small scraps of material to create new fabrics and she loves the challenge of working them into designs.

“Sometimes I have a tiny piece of something and have to think how to incorporate into a design so it doesn’t look like scraps of materials thrown together,” she explains.

The designer enjoys having this “freedom to be creative” and experimenting with new ideas, fabrics and designs.

“Even though I’m making the same items, I get to make something different whether it’s a different colour combination or working with a new fabric,” she explains.

Had’s clothing, bags and accessories can be purchased online and also at stockists, including Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery and Little Twidlets in Ludlow. See www.haddavies.co.uk or @haddavies on Instagram.