Ravensbourne University London’s ‘Trend to Traid’ collaboration brings circular fashion to life
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Ravensbourne University London’s Foundation students have partnered with London charity retailer Traid for ‘Trend to Traid’, a three-week industry collaboration challenging aspiring designers to forecast the future of fashion while responding to the realities of circular retail.
Running from 1 December 2025 to 26 February 2026, the project brought together students from the FE Fashion Communication and FE Visual Communication Design pathways to investigate the key social, political, cultural and environmental influences shaping the Spring/Summer 2026 fashion season (launching February 2026). Their task was to translate trend research into a cohesive, cross-disciplinary proposal aligned with Traid’s mission to promote climate responsibility, sustainability and social impact.
Working in collaborative teams and adopting specialist industry roles – ranging from Trend Forecaster to Brand Manager, Stylist and Store Concept Designer – students stepped beyond traditional boundaries to develop professionally presented pitch documents and window concepts for a live retail setting.
Dannie quote
I designed and led this project to enable students to develop meaningful outcomes that balance creative exploration with industry expectations. The project was structured to encourage innovative thinking while ensuring alignment with client needs and defined objectives. Supported by colleagues Matthew McGuiness, Fiona Quadri, and Sidney Belle Turner, who contributed specialist teaching and refinement throughout, the initiative provided students with a deeper understanding of professional standards and insight into the positive impact Traid is having within the sector.”
At the start of the project, students visited Traid’s head office to gain first-hand insight into the journey of donated clothing, from collection and sorting to distribution across London stores. The visit itself provided valuable context about the scale and organisation behind second-hand retail, grounding their creative responses in operational reality.
A key highlight was a styling and visual merchandising masterclass led by industry expert Jo Shippen, who introduced students to the principles of store concept design and customer experience. During the session, Jo also worked closely with students to help them pull looks together in support of their trend packs, guiding them on how to translate research and aesthetic direction into cohesive outfits and impactful retail outcomes. The session encouraged students to consider how creative vision can be refined and applied to deliver meaningful retail impact.
Students then applied these skills in a final fashion campaign shoot, mirroring industry practice. Hosted in Ravensbourne’s photography studio, the shoot was supported by BA (Hons) Photography lecturer Tiana Lea and technical assistants Edison Ling, Davida Popovaite and Kirtana Rajeev, giving learners a realistic production experience. Each student also produced a detailed trend pack and presented their outcomes directly to the Traid team, including Jose Baladron (Head of Brand Partnerships), Lizzie Hughes (Brand and Communications Lead) and Saijel Minnis (Marketing and Content), gaining experience in client-facing communication and professional presentation.
The winning team – Joe Penny (Fashion Communication), Lily Hughes, Emmi Macarthur, Arun Mellish, Tallulah Morris and Poppy Wormold (Visual Communication Design) – now have their concept realised in a live retail environment.
Working alongside Mark Lawerence, Visual Merchandiser at Traid, the group have their work displayed at Traid’s Lewisham store, running until 26 February 2026. Selected images from their final shoot, alongside key garments and styled looks, have been brought to life in a professional storefront setting, with additional coverage featured on the Traid website.
Their campaign stood out for its clarity, cohesion and strong alignment with the brief, demonstrating how forward-looking trend research can be meaningfully adapted within a circular fashion framework.
Traid gallery
This project was led by Dannielle Phillip and Sidney Belle Turner, with specialist teaching and creative input from Matthew McGuiness, Fiona Quadri, Tiana Lea (Photography), and industry insight from Jo Shippen (Styling and Visual Merchandising) and Mia Maxwell (Styling and Art Direction). We are also grateful to the Traid team for their collaboration and feedback, with special thanks to Helen Sadler and Mark Lawerence for supporting the final window installation.
'Trend to Traid' reflects Ravensbourne’s continued commitment to embedding industry engagement, sustainability and collaborative practice at Foundation level, equipping students with the confidence and skills to respond to the evolving demands of the fashion sector.
To find out more about our foundation courses, visit our website.
