Relove Fashion: make an outfit worth wearing again

Relove Fashion: make an outfit worth wearing again

Editorial overview

The most revealing requirement in Relove Fashion is that the finished outfit must be washable and re-wearable. That pushes the work beyond an eye-catching costume: the designer has to think about how fabric behaves on a body, how it is joined, and what happens after the photograph. Relove Fashion is powered by the Rediscovery Centre, Ireland’s National Centre for the Circular Economy. The competition was developed in response to the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry and aims to bridge a repair skills gap among young people. Its practical emphasis makes sense in that setting: an altered sleeve or a carefully repaired seam can matter as much as a dramatic silhouette.

The 2026 final brought together 58 finalist outfits from 29 local authority areas. Elżbieta Klonowska of St Louis Community School won the 2026 overall award for Rock Them, Madonna! Those results give useful context without supplying a pattern to copy. CompeteMap’s view is that this is a particularly worthwhile project for a student who wants to understand clothing by taking it apart, testing ideas and making it useful again. The substantial commitment is the whole process, including keeping a clear record while the making is happening. Families should allow room for discarded ideas, imperfect stitching and changes of direction; those are often where the most valuable learning occurs.

Quick Facts

For current dates, eligibility and registration details, see the Relove Fashion competition page.

Review Evaluation

Rated Intermediate. The main challenge is turning reused textiles into a washable, wearable outfit and explaining the choices behind it.

Start with the fabric you actually have

Relove Fashion asks entrants to create a washable, re-wearable outfit from preloved fabrics. Starting with a sketch of a perfect dress and then searching for materials to imitate it can make the project unnecessarily frustrating. A better starting point is an honest inventory: a shirt with sound fabric but a damaged collar, denim with useful pockets, a curtain with enough weight for a structured panel. Let those properties suggest the design.

Before cutting, examine each material. Does it stretch? Does it fray? Is it translucent? Will two fabrics shrink differently? Try a small join and wash a sample where practical. These are editorial preparation suggestions, not extra competition requirements. Their purpose is to expose problems while the project is still easy to change.

A student can make a simple repair feel intentional by repeating its colour or rhythm elsewhere. Conversely, adding more fabric does not automatically create a stronger design. Ask what each addition contributes to fit, movement, durability or visual coherence. Removing an unnecessary feature may be the most convincing design decision of the project.

The diary should explain the decisions

The submission combines a Project Diary, photographs and a short video documenting the process. Record changes as they happen. A photograph of a failed fastening, followed by an explanation of the replacement, can communicate more than a page of polished general statements about sustainability.

A useful working record distinguishes four things: what you intended, what you tried, what you observed and what you changed. For example, a panel might have looked right on paper but restricted movement when worn. That is a specific construction problem. Explaining how it was corrected shows the designer thinking with the material.

Research should connect to the outfit. If a student investigates cotton production, the discussion should help explain why retaining usable cotton matters and how their design uses it. Avoid a detachable introduction about the whole fashion industry that never returns to the garment. A narrower investigation, understood properly, usually produces a clearer account.

Keep authorship visible. Generative AI must not be used to complete the Submission Form or Project Diary. The sensible working habit is therefore to preserve the student’s own notes, vocabulary and observations from the outset, rather than trying to manufacture a convincing voice at the end.

Wearability gives the project its discipline

The published marking scheme allocates 20% to the Project Diary, 25% to design, innovation and creativity, and 15% each to skills, wearability and functionality, and research; sourcing materials accounts for 10%. Read that distribution as a reminder that the garment and the account of making it belong together. Spending all the available time on a spectacular outline leaves several important parts of the project underdeveloped.

Try the outfit on a moving person where appropriate. Can the wearer sit comfortably? Does a closure stay secure? Are seams under strain? Does the shape survive being taken off and put on again? A design may be visually striking while still needing ordinary practical adjustments.

The most useful adult contribution is a technical demonstration followed by space for the student to practise. Show how to handle a tool safely, help locate equipment, or discuss a problem. Resist quietly rebuilding the difficult section. Advice can support the project; the finished work should still make sense as the student’s achievement.

Make a realistic plan for people and materials

Entries may have one to five participants. A small group can divide research, construction, fitting and documentation, but responsibilities should overlap enough for everyone to explain how the garment developed. Avoid a structure in which one person does all the making and everyone else supplies a paragraph at the end.

Participants must be in second-level education; college, university and PLC students are excluded. Participants must be based in the Republic of Ireland; all local authorities now participate. Check the current official eligibility page before organising the project, particularly when a youth group includes members in different educational settings.

Participation is free; travel to Dublin may cost money for finalists. The absence of an entry charge does not remove the practical costs of time, equipment access and transport. Agree on a modest working budget and make use of materials already available before acquiring anything else. The reuse constraint should shape the process from the beginning.

Online registration of interest provides updates from the team. This sign-up is separate from the eventual competition submission. Use those updates to confirm the current arrangements. Exact dates belong on the competition page and the organiser’s channels rather than in a guide that may be read in a later season.

What the finished outfit can lead to

Entries are shortlisted, shortlisted applicants are interviewed, and finalists attend an exhibition and Grand Final. Treat explaining the work as part of finishing it. A student should be able to discuss an important change, a material constraint and something they would improve if starting again.

National awards are selected from regional winners. A family can welcome that route without making it the only measure of success. An outfit that is still worn after the event, and a student who can now alter their own clothes, are meaningful outcomes even when the competitive journey ends there.

Before submission, ask somebody unfamiliar with the project to look at the photographs and read the diary. Can they understand what was reused and what the designer actually did? If they cannot, improve the explanation before adding another decorative feature.

Key Takeaways

• Choose materials early and let their properties guide the design.
• Keep the diary alongside the sewing, with concrete evidence of decisions and revisions.
• Give washability, movement and repeated wear the same attention as appearance.
• Judge the experience partly by what the student can now make, repair and explain independently.

Sources checked

Checked on 16 October 2026. Current dates and entry arrangements should be confirmed on the linked competition page and official website.

• https://www.relovefashion.ie/
• https://www.relovefashion.ie/rules
• https://www.relovefashion.ie/how-to-enter
• https://www.relovefashion.ie/eligibility
• https://www.relovefashion.ie/faqs
• https://www.relovefashion.ie/prizes
• https://marketing.rediscoverycentre.ie/relove-fashion-register-your-interest_26/27
• https://www.rediscoverycentre.ie/2026/04/15/media-release-grand-final-of-relove-fashion/