Students and teachers from Kirkenes Videregående Skole (High School) and Murmansk Technical College have cooperated through different projects for four years. Their last project involved redesigning second-hand clothes from the Salvation Army into smart garments inspired by the 1950’ies and Russian folklore.
Redesign of second-hand clothes is not very common in Russia, says Anna, one of the participants from Murmansk. She has learned a lot about redesign and renewing of old clothes through this project.
Line from Kirkenes says that the Russian students are very good dressmakers. “They can make patterns and sew clothes from scratch, something that we don’t learn here in Norway”.
Besides learning new techniques in sewing and designing, the girls all agree that the contacts they have made across the border is one of the most important parts of the project.
“Barentslook 2013” was shown at the Salvation Army’s second-Hand shop “Fretex” in Kirkenes last week, and will be shown in Murmansk later this year, when a similar shop opens there.
Have a look at some of the clothes:
