Finisterre Student Design

For this unique project, celebrating 10 years of the Campaign for Wool, Finisterre design brief was for a range of socks, made using British wool, in striking designs, which embody the spirit and ethos of Finisterre and relevant to their customer and in-keeping with our brand, for AW20 with reference to their mood boards/colour palettes. Finisterre would like you to design a range of socks, comprising 3-6 designs/styles, fully coloured up, with details.

Finisterre didn’t want the student to focus on the aesthetics however, consider the circular economy in relation to wool and consider how blends could be avoided or degradable synthetic yarns used. Degradable nylon and polyester are becoming more widely available and could represent an exciting opportunity to extend wool’s durability, without compromising on its degradability.

Wool is also a fantastic fibre for recycling, Students were asked to consider looking into closing the loop on wool, creating woolly socks from jumpers, socks, even carpets! How could this supply chain take shape? Another consideration could be 
using British Merino for your Finisterre sock designs. Bowmont is our fully British sheep to shelf programme, every year we make jumpers from this premium and unique yarn, but not yet socks.

“Finisterre have been proud and committed supporters of the Campaign for Wool from day one, so it’s been a pleasure to celebrate wool’s super powers through this 10 year anniversary Student Competition. We were delighted with Ashira’s winning concept, taking the performance benefits of wool combined with the emotional connection of a classically soft, warm and comforting British-crafted sock. Finisterre produce over 50,000 wool socks a year in the UK, they are a firm favourite with the Finisterre customer. Ashira’s concept takes the natural sustainability credentials of wool to a new level, by incorporating both recycled and degradable blending yarns, to create an innovative and circular sock harnessing the very best wool has to offer to the consumer”. Debbie Luffman, Product Director, Finisterre

“Working on the Finisterre sock competition not only opened my eyes to the possibilities of using wool products but allowed me to develop new skills. My project was inspired by my own primary images taken whilst travelling which influenced the way I used colour and developed pattern. The project allowed me to take time looking into the beneficial qualities of wool and the ways that it can be designed in order to create a sustainable product with a closed loop life cycle. The importance of this concept being so crucial now more than ever. Being given this opportunity has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to seeing the final product. A main aspect I will take away from this opportunity is to design with sustainability in mind whilst ultimately aiming to close the loop on a garment’s life.” Ashira Mellor, Winning Student

“Finisterre has provided the students with an opportunity to explore design aesthetics whilst considering and understanding the importance of sustainability. Design decisions have an enormous impact on sustainability, and it is the designer’s responsibility to carefully consider the sustainable impact at the design stage. Ashira has demonstrated within her work a strong understanding of the circular economy and how to consider this at the design stage.” Helen Hill, Course Leader and Ashira’s tutor

MATERIAL

Merino wool Incorporating both recycled and degradable yarns (70% Merino wool / 30% degradable nylon), blended to create an innovative and circular sock. Harnessing the very best wool has to offer to the consumer. Available in AW21 from www.finisterre.com