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ABOUT ME

Fiona Foster

Textile Designer

Fiona Foster is a woven textile designer who is driven by sustainable design processes in her materials led practice.

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Her collection titled: “Mind of a Magpie’ challenges conventional attitudes towards what we define as waste and the hidden value of the materials we consume. Magpies are considered resourceful and adaptable opportunists that thrive in human-created environments, like cities. These collectors value the waste we produce. If humans approached design with a Magpie-like perspective, what might the world look like? Could we become more resourceful designers who fully value the materials we use?

The collection takes inspiration from cityscapes and how the refined materials commonly found in our metropolises contrast to their raw counterparts. Her work documents the messy reality of independent textile recycling and our relationship with the planet’s resources.

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She is now looking forwarding to pursuing opportunities in sustainable textile manufacturing and R&D.

EXPERIENCES

Advanced Textiles Research Group (Nottingham Trent University)
Work experience September 2023 (2 weeks)

  • Gained insight into the research carried out by the team into e-textiles and the development of e-yarns. Understanding of how R&D and PhD projects are carried out from start to finish.

  • Soldered miniature LEDs to gain hand hands-on experience of creating an e-yarn.

  • Introduction to a wide range of James Heal testing equipment.

  • Basic knowledge of Shima Seiki knit programming software.

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CERT Student Mentor (Nottingham Trent University)

  • September 2022 – Present

  • Helped first year students studying Textile Design with adjusting to life at university. Worked with other student mentors to organise social events and delegate shifts.

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Student Ambassador (Nottingham Trent University)
September 2022 – Present

  • Actively engage with prospective students during open days. Answer and assist with any queries. Give tours of facilities and explain equipment across textile specialisms. 

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Participated in the “PPE Refashioned” project at NTU, where I creatively re-used old PPE hospital gowns to produce new textile outcomes. My work was exhibited at the PLATE (Product Lifetimes and the Environment) Conference 2023 at Aalto University, Helsinki. 

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  • Participated in the Paul Vogel competition at NTU. This involved designing a collection of fabrics for men’s shirting for SS25. My work was exhibited alongside Paul Vogel’s work at Premiere Vision.

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  • Participated in the SpinExpo 2024 design brief for “Autograph”. I collaborated with a Fashion Design student to create a pair of trousers using the sponsored yarns to weave jacquard fabrics. Exhibited as part of the Nottingham School of Art & Design stand at SpinExpo, Shanghai.

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3rd Year 40 Credit Module: Culture and Context:

  • Adapted content from dissertation for public facing outcomes. I wrote a conference paper and organised a zine making workshop to create sustainability manifestos.

  • I presented my conference paper to 2nd year Fashion/Textiles/Knitwear students at Visual and Material Delights – an internal conference at NTU.

 

  • Selected for a poster presentation at Textiles and Life 4 conference, organised by The Textile Institute. (Manchester, 22nd May 2024)

AWARDS

2024 BA (Hons) Textile Design Student Awards Evening - Best Sustainability

 

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