Sarah Elwick

Sarah is a practising Textile Designer/Maker with a specialism in Knitwear. She is an ECR and her research interests focus on investigating circular, sustainable, and transparent practises with the Fashion and Textiles industry, primarily focussing on new ways to use/reuse/recycle/repurpose/remake & manufacture ‘waste’ textiles and yarn.

This research feeds directly into her teaching with students, as she believes an understanding of these current issues within Fashion and Textiles are key for students looking to work within the industry to grasp, and hopefully give them the know-how and the tools to find creative & modern solutions to this issue on both a global and local scale.

Sarah graduated from Winchester School of Art in 2003 with a 1^st class honours degree in Textile Design, and then went straight on to complete her Masters at the RCA in 2005 with an MA in Menswear Knitwear. Since then has worked in both commercial and high-end design studios as a Freelance Knitwear designer, including Michiko Koshino, River Island, and Sid Bryan Knitwear consultancy. In 2010 she set up her own Knitwear Accessory label, focussing on working with small-scale specialist UK based Knitwear producers, to allow her to produce a high-end, and sustainable product, promoting British Knitwear manufacturing. 

She has taught in HE institutions in Knitwear Design for 13 years, and currently works as a Senior Lecturer in Professional Practice for Fashion and Textiles here at the University of Brighton, alongside her role as Course Leader for Textiles.

As both a Lecturer and creative practitioner I consider my teaching to be as equally important as my practice-based research in this academic role.

Coming from a Textiles background, and with the experience of both teaching Knitwear Design, a practise-based subject at Undergraduate level for many years, alongside developing my own practice as a designer/maker, running my own business and promoting/merchandising/selling my own work I developed knowledge and understanding of the many hats you have to wear as creative practitioner.

I see my role in teaching ‘Professional practice’ to Fashion and Textile undergraduates is to offer them ways of seeing and approaching all the other skills they may need to develop alongside their creative studio practice, in order to bring their creative ideas out into the world, and to reach their fullest potential.

Part of my role is to work closely with the Fashion and Textiles Placement team, in helping to prepare undergraduates for the placement year. I feel passionately that students should be equipped as a creative professional to promote themselves effectively in the world, and to feel confident on graduation on how to do this.