Aoife Harvey
Course: UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design (Design Crafts)
Meet Aoife, a former Art & Design student from Limavady Campus. She has received several awards for her work with sustainable fashion and was the winner of the BBC TV series 'A Stitch in Time’. Aoife is now working full-time on her fashion brand, AH Designs.
After NWRC I graduated with a 1st class honours degree in Fashion & Textiles. I'm now running my own successful fashion brand, specialising in upcycled and sustainable fashion. I recently took my designs to the runway in Paris - the fashion capital of the world!
Aoife in Paris
NWRC graduate and fashion designer Aoife Harvey took her designs to Paris this year to take part in the International Upcycling and Sustainable Fashion Festival. Aoife spent two days showcasing her work to an international audience on the Peniche Annette K barge on the River Seine, with a view of Eiffel Tower.
The Claudy woman who previously studied Art & Design at NWRC Limavady before graduating with a 1st class honours degree in Fashion and Textiles at Ulster University, said taking her designs to the fashion capital of the world, was a dream come true.
“It’s all happened so fast" said Aoife. "Every designer dreams of watching their designs on the runway in Paris, and it happened to me. Since graduating I’ve been flat out working full-time on my fashion brand AH Designs specialising in upcycled fashion using my fabric-first approach. I’ve come a long way since my first creations where I upcycled old seat belts into fashion.
“My passion is to take textile waste and turn it into a stylish wardrobe. I often use traditional techniques like patchwork and quilting, combined with modern 2024 fashion trends. I've upcycled upholstery, denim, and leather that would have otherwise ended up in landfills. That’s so important to me.
My collections are versatile, so you can mix and match the pieces and wear them again and again. I hope my work inspires others to rethink their approach to design and upcycling, and to change their attitudes towards upcycled clothing.”
Award-winning designs
Last year Aoife’s work came to local and national acclaim when she won the BBC TV show ‘A Stitch through Time.’ In 2023 she was the only Northern Irish designer showcasing at Northern Fashion Week in Manchester.
Her designs have been featured at fashion shows across the UK and Ireland, and most recently, at New York Fashion Week. In 2023 she received an honorary award at North West Regional College’s graduation ceremony for her contribution to the Arts and Fashion.
Last year she won a NI Women’s award for achievement in STEM, and regularly visits her former college inspiring the artists and fashion designers of the future.
Through AH Designs Aoife specialises in upcycled fashion using her fabric-first approach. She recently returned to NWRC to deliver a masterclass to current Art and Design students at Limavady Campus on sustainability in fashion, where the students used recycled ripped denim to make handbags.
A passion for fashion
Aoife’s passion for fashion comes from the tales she was told by her great aunts working in shirt factories in Derry~Londonderry.
She said: “My mum can sew, and when I was younger, I would always have her alter clothes for me because I am too short for most of the clothes I buy. I grew up hearing stories about the rich textile history in Derry and its shirt-making factories. When I was young my granny would often share stories about her aunts who worked in the shirt factory in Derry. She would also tell me about how her mom would upcycle and sew flour bags into pillowcases and shirt collars. It makes me incredibly proud to be upcycling clothing in my fashion designs today, just like she did.
“I have always been a creative person from a young age, participating in competitions and studying arts and crafts for the past eight years. It was during my time at Limavady NWRC that I truly started taking fashion design seriously and realized it was my true passion.
"From my first four-piece final collection at NWRC, where I experimented with upcycling seat belts, to my most recent twelve-outfit upcycled collection at Ulster University, I couldn't envision myself pursuing any other career.”
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