The winner of a design competition organised by Local Motion and Connect Tees Valley, the Sustainable Transport project covering the Tees Valley has been selected.

Design students from colleges across the region were invited to work on a live project to design a piece of outerwear aimed at walkers or cyclists which would increase the wearer’s visibility. Students could choose to design a piece of clothing for the elderly, commuters, young children or teenagers or design an accessory for walkers or cyclists.

Sustainable Transport Manager for Darlington Borough Council, Sue Dobson stated “Over the past 2 years, whilst running our Travel Safely This Winter campaign, it has been apparent that it is very difficult to find everyday clothing which is designed to increase visibility whilst also being attractive and functional to wear. As a result we launched a competition to colleges across the Tees Valley, inviting students to submit designs which would increase the visibility of certain groups of people in the darker winter months.”

Winner, Level 5 Fashion student Charlotte Lee, from Cleveland College of Art and Design chose to design her piece for the teenage audience.  Charlotte commented “My main emphasis was to design a jacket that could be worn by a young teenage male living in the North East. A key design feature was the use of reflective fabrics applied as part of the seam construction to a fashionable jacket. When worn this allows the wearer to be more visible to drivers, cyclists etc. at night time, thus improving their safety.”

“I was shocked and delighted when I found out that Local Motion liked my designs and finished clothing. I really enjoyed this process and learned so much from working on a live brief. I have decided that I will put the prize money towards my fabric purchases for my final 3rd year project. As to what I will do in the future I am uncertain. I’m currently working through ideas and concepts for my dissertation and who knows what doors could possibly be opened.”

Vicky Wake, Programme Leader for the BA (hons) Fashion degree at Cleveland College of Art and Design, said: “Research had shown it difficult to find clothing which is designed to increase visibility but also be attractive and functional to wear, so Charlotte set about designing a collection that fulfilled this. She has been lucky enough to be selected the winner from the entries submitted and we are very proud of her success.”

The design competition supported Local Motion’s wider ‘Travel safely this winter’ campaign which used social media posts to increase awareness of the importance of staying safe whilst travelling in the winter months. The campaign also targeted the elderly and vulnerable by donating high visibility shopping bags to users of AGE UK groups across the Tees Valley. 1000 bags were distributed across the region.