Fashion’s bright future

London – Selfridges has announced its shortlist for Bright New Things 2016, a celebration of UK companies working with sustainable fashion.

• Each of the nine finalists will collaborate with Selfridges’ visual team to create a window in the retailer’s Oxford Street store
• They will be mentored by the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and one Bright New Thing will win a bursary to support their business

Now in its fifth iteration, Selfridges’ Bright New Things, a talent platform dedicated to future-facing designers and retailers, is focusing on sustainable fashion and the people making it a reality in 2016.

This year’s Bright New Things include UnMade, which enables people to customise made-to-order garments using a hacked industrial knitting machine. Others include Clothsurgeon, which lets customers bring in garments and upcycle or combine them with other fabrics to create something unique, and Auria, a brand of swimwear made from recycled fishing nets that would otherwise pollute the coasts and seas of the world.

For its Selfridges window, Hiut Denim, which is revitalising the small town of Cardigan’s manufacturing industry, is promoting its No Wash Club, encouraging customers to go six months before washing their jeans, saving water in the process. ‘If you wash them before you’ve had time to put your imprint on them they become quite flat,’ says co-founder David Hieatt.