Charlie McCosker: RTRN

Supporting the next generation of designers is an important element of the Liberty Fabrics mission in exploring innovation through sustainable practices. For Charlie McCosker’s 2021 Central Saint Martins graduate show RTRN, the designer used waste textile donations provided by Liberty Fabrics, previously used in the Liberty store and studio. These donated fabrics were decorated using tailoring and couture embroidery techniques to embellish the garments with waste picked up from the street on the way into school, with tin cans fashioned into embroidered flowers and bottle caps into beads and studs alongside artisan elements inspired by the designer’s Irish and South African heritage.

“It is important in my designs to create pieces that are timeless and not a trend. Another important element of sustainability – quality pieces, made to last. By using Liberty’s waste pieces from their store in my collection, I am continuing their legacy, and that legacy is lifting up and making my clothes even more special. Listening to our ancestry and discovering our heritage and the importance of that is the only way to move into the future.” – Charlie McCosker