Lydia Bolton

Lydia Bolton has always loved art and fashion, but wanted to bring her strong environmental values into her work. While working in the fashion industry in London, she realised that becoming a designer would give her the ability to create fashion items that were more sustainable.

Lydia quit her job in 2019 to focus on turning second-hand and unwanted fabric (known as “deadstock”) into new clothing. In that time, she has also run workshops to show others how to upcycle items and worked with corporations like Unilever and Nike to promote the reuse of fabrics.

For the next stage of her business, Lydia wants to grow her brand, expand her team and start collaborations with large retailers to reduce their deadstock.

“I see collaboration as a key way to create a less wasteful fashion industry. I believe waste is a design flaw and that we can reduce the amount of wasted material through partnerships and creativity,” she says.