31 Jan 2024 Community

Fashion designer Meg Lara Atelier loves The Kirkwood charity shop products for her designs

The Kirkwood loves to see people using their initiative and wanting to create exciting new products from things that they found in our charity shops. One such person who puts a huge amount of effort and time into her creations is Holmfirth designer Meg Lara Atelier.

Meg, 28 is a costume and fashion designer from Holmfirth who specialises in using sustainable material found in charity shops. Meg is a frequent visitor to our charity shops across the region but particularly in Holmfirth.

(Photo credit: Elle Narbrook)

On her passion for fashion, she said: “I am a costume and fashion designer, and my speciality is sustainable design as I’m hugely passionate about the environment. I work entirely with second hand clothing and materials, a lot of which I find in charity shops like The Kirkwood.

“My main sources of inspiration are storytelling and history, so I create a lot of pieces for people attending events such as historical balls and dances, as well as fantasy themed festivals, photoshoots, weddings, the list goes on!

“One of my highlights was creating a collection for the runway at York Fashion week, made entirely out of materials I sourced second hand including pillowcases, curtains, vintage fabrics and scraps. The collection was inspired by centuries of ‘springtimes’ in the Yorkshire countryside.”

(Photo credit: Olivia Bradbury)

“One of my favourite creations is this Tudor inspired gown I made from two pairs of second-hand curtains, one of which I found in The Kirkwood shop. I was inspired by the colours on the moors at sunset, and so I wore it for a photoshoot in the hills near my home in Huddersfield.

“The photos turned out beautifully, taken by local photographer Jenny Milner. One of the images even ended up on the front cover of a novel recently.”

(Photo credit: Jenny Milner)

Meg believes The Kirkwood is so important to the Kirklees community and so she loves to support us wherever she can by buying products from our shops.

She explained: “I love to support The Kirkwood and their shops when I can, as I think it’s a hugely beneficial charity for our local community.

“My mum works as a bereavement counsellor and actually started out her career in care with The Kirkwood when I was younger, so it’s always been a charity that I’ve been aware of.

“I know just how important the work being done by charities like The Kirkwood is in helping those who need it the most, and I’m grateful that we have these support systems here in our community.

“I also think shopping second hand is more important now than ever before considering how fast fashion is damaging our planet and harming those working in the industry across the world.

“Supporting charity shops like The Kirkwood means your money goes to a good cause that is making a positive difference. It is also a much more fun way of shopping, (I love a good rummage for hidden treasures!) that is far better for the planet and our wallets too. My favourite shop must be the Holmfirth shop; I often pop in on my weekend walks through the village.

“I’m hoping to continue my costume work in 2024, but I’m also hoping to release a new collection that focuses on more wearable items that your everyday person can wear, all from second hand and vintage fabrics. I’ll definitely be hunting the charity shops for some new material! If you want to keep up with my work, you can follow my Instagram which I update regularly with what I am working on: @meg.lara.atelier”