What You Can Look Forward to at Ripples of Change

By Hailey Larson

Imagine a fashion runway lit under the high ceilings of Blenheim Palace. The air is full of music, conversation – and sustainable clothing. Guests watch as models young and old strut past in garments made from unexpected and environmentally friendly materials. Dresses are sewn from plants. Old football kits are turned into sleek looks. Even plastic waste finds new life as an elegant gown on the runway. This is Ripples of Change, Cherwell Collective’s Sustainable Fashion Show.

On Thursday, 1 October 2025 at 8.30 pm our Sustainable Fashion Show will return to Blenheim Palace for the second year in a row. Today we share what you can look forward to at Cherwell Collective’s Ripples of Change runway show for Sustainable Fashion Week.

More than Fashion

Ripples of Change is not just about the hunt for cool clothes, but about how our fashion choices can support a healthy planet. Each runway piece tells a story of bold and creative choices to reuse, rethink, and care for the future. Ripples of Change is a vital part of Cherwell Collective’s Carbon Cost of Fashion campaign that helps everyone understand the impact of producing textiles, and empowers behavioural change through interactive learning and engagement.

The show is set to be the main programming event for the Oxford Hub of Sustainable Fashion Week. To celebrate our county’s groundbreaking work we are spotlighting local innovators in our lineup.

Every designer featured in Ripples of Change has a tie to Oxfordshire. We are proud of the solutions our Oxfordshire community finds and are proud to feature a wide variety of talented designers whose passion, vision, and artistry are changing the fashion industry for the better.

The Designers

Over 10 local designers will share their work at Ripples of Change. Every design is linked by one idea, expressed best by Cherwell Collective’s founder, Dr. Emily L. Connally: ‘Each choice, each act of reuse, each piece of upcycled design is a drop that contributes to a wave. Together, we become the ocean, an unstoppable force of collective change.’

Allow us to introduce you to a few of this year’s amazing designers.

Rocqu

Rocqu is creating clothing in the most environmentally friendly way he can. He views his work as a statement of hope based on his belief that there is always a better way. For him, this is the goal above profit and practicality.

Rocqu draws inspiration from his experience learning about the scale of fashion’s pollution. He knew it was harmful,l but was shocked to learn that it is the second most polluting industry after oil and gas. The truth forced him to think about his role as a designer. He dreamt of building a brand but wondered how he could do so in an industry that damages the planet. 

In Ripples of Change, he takes an opportunity to explore that conflict.

His search for sustainable solutions lead him to leaves. Even organic fibres need heavy processing, but leaves are raw and untouched. He didn’t know if it would be possible to turn them into clothes, and began experimenting. He started by collecting leaves that had already fallen or are being cut back, many from his grandmother’s and neighbours’ gardens. First, he preserved and painted them, then tried gluing them onto thrifted clothing. But that didn’t feel quite right. 

He continued experimenting. He discovered that by hand-stitching leaves together, he could create a stronger material, like leather.

Rocqu works leaf by leaf, stitch by stitch, until the textile grows into garments. Together his pieces take more than 7,000 stitches and about 800 leaves.

His journey and artistry have helped him feel a sense of purpose. He is proud to prove that design can be both creative and responsible. It pushes him to keep challenging an industry that often chooses profit over the planet.

Rocqu hopes that his choice of leaves as a medium will leave a message for viewers. People tend to forget that all clothes come from nature, and he wants these garments to remind us of that link. He hopes those who see them will question what their own clothes are made from and think twice about their choices, especially fast fashion.

Imogen Barrow-Starkey

Imogen Barrow-Starkey (Immy) is a passionate and creative young designer from West Oxfordshire. She fell in love with fashion during her GCSE textiles course. She’s passionate about sustainability in fashion and loves the freedom of exploring her own sewing projects when she’s not working in her full-time communications role. As a child she visited Blenheim palace often, so participating in our Sustainable Fashion Show feels like a full circle moment for her. 

She learned basic sewing at school, and since then most of her skills have been self-taught. She feels deeply that everyone is capable of more than they might think. Expensive machines or fashion degrees are not needed! Determination and a good tolerance for failure (they’re just learning opportunities after all) is enough to lead to achievements you can be proud of yourself for, and create ripples of change.

This year, she is working with football merchandise from Oxford United Football Club for her Ripples of Change pieces.

She is mainly using shirts that cannot be sold for various reasons. Sports textiles create a lot of waste if not reused. Most are polyester, woven from plastic fibres. She is giving these fabrics new life for Ripples of Change by making two looks consisting of several pieces. They are designed to feel glamorous but still show signs of their sportswear past. Drawstrings, laces, and old silhouettes remain part of the style.

Both new looks will go to auction. Each will also include a special detail to make them even more unique!

She shares her work on Instagram at @textilesgirl. She also sells on Depop under the same name offering upcycled dresses, scrunchies, and second hand clothing.

Waste Innovation Station HQ – Molliemae Cox

WISH is a Cherwell Collective project that supports sustainable daily habits in the community through reducing household waste and consumer goods through innovation. WISH is the organiser of Ripples of Change, and is proud to present their own collection to showcase what can happen with creativity and innovation in waste reduction. Molliemae Cox and Julie Bunn are our incredible designers for WISH’s Ripples of Change line. Today we feature Molliemae, our 23-year-old Creative Director, and her work journey towards Ripples of Change.

Molliemae has lived in Oxford all her life, and creativity has always been at her core. From childhood she loved art in every form, teaching herself new skills and exploring the weird and wonderful. She never felt part of the crowd, but art gave her space to embrace difference and turn it into strength. She studied art at college and now works as Creative Director at WISH, a role she has held for three years. The job has been transformative in teaching her to think differently about materials and sustainability. 

One of her favourite projects was a giant unicorn head sculpture built entirely from items saved from landfill. Projects like this showed her that creativity is not only about beauty but also about possibility.

Her latest work for Ripples of Change is a five-piece collection called Echoes of Waste. Each garment is made from discarded household items such as crisp packets, Coke cans, milk cartons, plastic bags, and dried flowers.

She wants to prove that fashion is more than fabric and that even the most overlooked items can become bold, wearable statements. Crisp packets give off shimmering metallics. Plastic bags create sculptural shapes. Dried flowers add delicate natural textures. Together, the pieces show the tension between fragility and durability, waste and renewal.

At its heart, the collection is about shifting perspective. She wants people to question what waste really means and to feel inspired by the potential of the discarded. Her work is playful, eccentric, and joyful. She believes curiosity and delight are powerful tools for change. By turning trash into treasure, she hopes to spark new conversations about sustainability and remind people that creativity can thrive in the most unexpected places.

Donna Roper

Returning to the Sustainable Fashion Show for a second year in a row, Donna has named her collection ‘Welcome to Women of a Certain Rage’, inspired by Georgie Hall’s novel. She describes the collection as ‘born not from quiet compliance, but from fire, humour, and fierce individuality’. This collection is a love letter to the women who’ve had enough. Enough of being told to shrink, to smooth, to tone it down. Enough of the pressures to disappear just when they’re hitting their stride.’

Women of a Certain Rage is for the women who walk into midlife not fading, but blazing. She draws inspiration from those who refuse to be boxed in, silenced, or shaped into something more “palatable.”

Every look from Donna in Ripples of Change is either made from preloved or repurposed textiles.

An Evening to Remember

Ripples of Change will also be enhanced by incredible partners sharing their talents. Sophie Law from BBC Radio Oxford will once again host the evening.

The Ripples of Change models are not your average group. We’ve worked with Lady Boss Events to train up a diverse crew of models. We don’t just mean diverse in terms of ethnicity, but also in age, body shape, profession, and experience (although you’d never know these runways feature novice models, thanks to Lady Boss’s amazing training). Our models are part of the changemaker experience we are bringing to Ripples of Change, and will be highlighted in our hand programme along with our designers.

Adding the final touch, models will have their hair styled by HARE, a local sustainable salon. The team recycles hair waste at their salon by turning it into compost or using it in oil spill cleanups.

Be Part of the Change

In addition to enjoying the incredible lineup from our local designers, VIP guests will enjoy a private pre-show reception with networking, live music, drinks, and a professional photoshoot. They will also have early access to our sustainable fashion auction in November. Designers have donated unique pieces that will go under the hammer to support our crucial work after the show. 

Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.

• VIP Hospitality Tickets: Seated tickets, pre-show reception networking with drinks, canapés, professional photos, and live music
  
• Standard Tickets: Entry to the runway show.

Don’t miss watching Ripples of Change turn into waves at Blenheim Palace. See you on the runway next month!