Together with Ealing Broadway, #EalingSewnUp is thrilled to announce the highly deserving winner of the Sustainable Fashion Mural Competition…….HUGE congratulations to local budding street artist, Tara Davies!
Everyone involved was incredibly impressed with Tara’s design which was cleverly made up of a bright patchwork of images packed full of sustainable fashion ideas all woven together to create a clear image that cannot fail to motivate new fashion habits! But…don’t take our word for it…pop along to Ealing Broadway (St Saviour’s walk) on Sunday 20 November (10am-4pm) to see Tara’s painting team and expert street artists transfer Tara’s design from an A3 piece of paper to a wall size image!
I was lucky enough to catch up with Tara once she’d had a moment to digest the exciting news that she had won the competition. From the start of our conversation it is clear Tara is a young lady who knows her own style and really understands sustainability. When I asked her about her thinking behind her design she immediately explains that she kicked off spending time researching the topic to really understand how best to approach the idea of creating something suitable for a mural.
Tara really is a creative talent. Her infectious enthusiasm for finding a sustainable approach to traditional ideas really impresses me, as she describes how she used recycled materials and fabrics for her GCSE art piece. This idea of combining different textures is something that really captivated the judges with her patchwork design concept for the mural.
Tara has always been a big fan of shopping in charity shops. Just earlier that day, Tara and her mum had made time for a quick tour of their favourite charity shop to discover any hidden treasures. What I love about speaking to Tara is how incredibly thoughtful and independent she clearly is – another inspiring Ealing woman in the making!
Tara explains, “Not only are we supporting good causes by shopping in a charity shop but I can find lots of different styles in just one shop. I love the idea of making the most of clothes that are already around.”
Tara admits it was her mum who encouraged her to enter the mural design competition. Tara’s mum had heard about the competition when she had joined the #EalingSewnUp Fashion Show & Clothes Swap at Gunnersbury Park Museum. Her mum could not believe how much water the fashion industry used – taking 2,700 litres of water to make just one cotton t-shirt (that is how much one person should drink in three years)!
Tara is a huge advocate for re-use. She clearly has a fantastic group of friends as they all share and swap clothes. Tara makes me laugh as she describes herself as “the short friend” so she gets everyone’s hand-me downs. Her comment makes me think of my son who loves his patched, hand-me down trousers because they give him the chance to be truly unique.
I ask Tara what her “call to action” would be for anyone reading this. Like so many of the sustainable fashionistas I have met, her confidence shines through, without hesitation she says, “If there are clothes you no longer want, don’t throw them in the bin, swap them or give them to charity because someone out there will love what you no longer wear.”
Tara’s clarity and sense of her own style is truly inspiring. It makes me think how incredible it would be if everyone in Ealing could have a friend like Tara.
Learn more about sustainable fashion by visiting the Ealing Sewn Up webpages and visiting Ealing Broadway to watch Tara’s mural come to life on Sunday 20 November (10am-4pm).
