Burberry Reimagining Materials Competition
A competition providing London College of Fashion (LCF) students with the opportunity to develop creative ways to reinvent Burberry’s surplus materials into original products.
Created in partnership between Burberry and Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), the Reimagining Materials Competition presented a unique opportunity for LCF students to develop creative ways to make use of Burberry's surplus materials.
The competition looked for innovations in design that offered inspiring ways of turning material excess into original products. The competition offered LCF students the opportunity to engage in a real industry brief, to benefit from the guidance of Burberry professionals and the chance to win a cash prize and three-month design internship at Burberry.
The Brief
The brief focused on circular design, which is the practice of creating products that regenerate natural systems, design out waste and pollution and keep materials in use for as long as possible.
The challenge for students was to use their design skills, craft and creativity to present exciting ways of reinventing material excess into originals products, including outer-trench fabric, check lining fabric, leather scraps and a selection of trims. Applications could focus on any product category, including garments, footwear and accessories.
Students were asked to create a concept that:
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Offered an innovative approach to circular design, exploring viable opportunities for Burberry to eliminate material excess and keep materials at their highest value.
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Was feasible to prototype into a single product, supporting the development of outputs and concepts that could be put into practice or production.
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Enabled co-learning, supporting Burberry to understand what the next generation wants for the future of fashion.
Shortlisting
Burberry and CSF reviewed all applications against the following judging criteria and narrowed down the applications to a shortlist of 20 students:
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Originality: The ability to conceive and develop an original concept in response to the brief.
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Creativity: Clear evidence of exceptional creativity in design and aesthetics.
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Feasibility: Demonstration of the feasibility of the concept and how it would be brought to life in the competition timescales.
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Sustainability thinking: Demonstration of the sustainability impact of the concept and how it will change fashion’s relationship with circularity and material use.
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Relevance: A clear demonstration of how the idea will make use of Burberry surplus materials, with potential for scalability. A deep understanding of Burberry house codes, aesthetics and heritage.
The shortlisted students were then presented with a selection of Burberry’s surplus materials, with the task of bringing their concept to life. To inspire their concepts, the students were invited to a talk with Carly Eck, Brand Curator of the Burberry Archive. The talk detailed the history and evolution of Burberry, and Thomas Burberry's creation of the innovative material, gabardine, the world's first weatherproof fabric.
In the final part of the shortlisting experience, to aid prototype design, students were invited back to Burberry’s London headquarters. Students were given 20-minute slots to explain their concept and show their physical prototype to the Burberry team, who offered insights on structure, pricing, commerciality, construction and functionality.
Following the submission of the final prototypes, Burberry and CSF reviewed all applications against the judging criteria, selecting nine finalists and one winner.
Pictured below are the finalists at Reimagining Materials Exhibition at LCF in April 2025. From left to right, the finalists are Camille Neuville, Eva Clarkson, Soojin Lee, Jimena Martínez, Clara Gröning (Winner), Inmaculada Osorio Cobo, Lucia Guedan, Maddison Neseyif. The finalists not pictured are Xiaoman Li and Xiaoqing Zhao.
Project Outputs
The Burberry x CSF Reimagining Materials Competition winner and finalists were announced in May 2025, featuring students across LCF’s BA, MA and Graduate Diploma courses. The winning design belongs to Clara Gröning, BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Development student at LCF.
The winning piece, alongside nine other selected finalists’ work, was showcased at the ‘Reimagining Materials’ exhibition held in the Wolfson Gallery at London College of Fashion’s new home at East Bank on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford this April. The final designs were also displayed at Burberry’s London Regent Street store.
"Burberry to me is very synonymous with heritage. I have always been fascinated by brands with strong visual brand language and company code, because it is an interesting challenge to adhere to this, while still reinventing yourself. I think that was my favourite part of this competition."
Clara Gröning, BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Development student at London College of Fashion, UAL and competition winner
"We are delighted to be able to partner with Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), London College of Fashion (LCF), UAL to bring this competition to life. With the support of our incredible judging panel, we were able to create a competition with CSF that really challenged the students to think outside of the box and build circularity into a practical design brief. We were so impressed by the calibre and creativity of all the designs, and by how dynamically each student applied their design skills throughout the competition."
Helen Davis, VP Product Strategy and member of Burberry judging panel
"The Reimagining Materials Competition is a magnificent manifestation of how relationships can create knowledge, skills and capabilities that contribute to a prosperous world we can all enjoy. Relationships are formed through mutual curiosity, shared interests and an openness for co-learning; qualities we have seen throughout the phases of the competition, clearly embodied in the thoughtful circular designs of our finalists and winner.”
Professor Dilys Williams, Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion, UAL
CSF Project Team
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Jade McSorley, Head of Knowledge Exchange (Sustainability)
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Ella Andrew, Knowledge Exchange Manager & Policy Lead (Sustainability)
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Eve Flitman, Centre Coordinator and Knowledge Exchange Officer (Sustainability)
Project Partners
Contact for the Project
Please email: sustainability@fashion.arts.ac.uk
Learn More
Burberry News Announcement: Burberry partners with London College of Fashion's Centre for Sustainable Fashion on 'Reimagining Materials' Student Competition.
LCF Story: LCF's Clara Gröning wins Reimagining Materials Competition in partnership with Burberry and CSF.
LCF Story: Join LCF's shortlisted students as they prepare for the final stage of Burberry x CSF Reimagining Materials competition
LCF Story: Burberry partners with CSF for Reimagining Materials Competition.