Lenovo, Stella McCartney & UK College partner for sustainable fashion

As a powerhouse innovator in all things design-led, Stella will inspire 38 students from the Central Saint Martins MA Design course to channel their desire to change the world for the better and apply their creativity in an eight-week live brief. They will each be tasked to explore the relationship between fashion and technology and create a sustainable solution that pushes the boundaries of where they intersect.

Following the design challenge, one winning student, as chosen by Stella, will be awarded a three-month internship at Stella McCartney in a department of their choice. The collaboration puts the power for change in the hands of tomorrow’s visionaries at Central Saint Martins and empowers them to make a real difference. To help the students unlock their creativity, Lenovo is providing cutting-edge Yoga PCs to each student who takes part, the company said in a press release.

“At my fashion house, creativity and technology have always gone hand-in-hand. That’s why I am so excited to partner with Lenovo on this incredible project – coming together today so we can empower the creative visionaries of tomorrow at my alma mater, Central Saint Martins. As a progressive luxury brand, Stella McCartney has always looked to the future, and I know that Lenovo is as keen about protecting the planet as I am. Together we are excited to be able to support the next generation of talent in developing something entirely new in sustainable fashion, and I cannot wait to see the results,” Stella McCartney said.

“Key to the work we do as a course is an understanding that the sustainability and ethicality of production is an urgent challenge to each of our disciplines, ceramics, furniture and jewellery. We are delighted to have the opportunity to test the principles and practices of MA Design with our inspirational alumna Stella McCartney and the forward-thinking team at Lenovo. The students and the staff have embraced this challenge,” Simon Fraser, course director MA Design, Central Saint Martins, said.

“At Lenovo, we are always striving to create innovative and smarter solutions to build a more sustainable future, which is why collaborating with Stella McCartney and Central Saint Martins felt so right. It’s bringing together leaders of three different sectors – fashion, design and technology – all of which all share the same values of delivering meaningful change. Through this partnership we are setting the stage for the future generation of those looking to change the world and we’re very excited to see what is created,” Brian Leonard, vice president of Design Innovation, Lenovo said.

Lenovo has recently outlined its vision to become net-zero by 2050. And by FY 2025-26, 100 per cent of Lenovo PCs will contain post-consumer recycled materials and 90 per cent of plastic packaging will be made from recycled materials. Lenovo also aims to enable the recycle and reuse of 363 million kilograms of end-of-life products and 136 million kilograms of post-consumer recycled content plastics will be used across the product portfolio.