J. O. STUDIO
Jess O’Riley founded J.O. STUDIO in 2023, influenced by her love of adventure in the outdoors and her lifelong passion for running, hiking and cycling. Her brand’s commitment to circular design and sustainable practice sees her creating collections re-imagining post-consumer waste, particularly discarded festival tents. Jess uses her own experience and unique understanding of the technical requirements of outerwear garments to create reworked sportswear pieces – with a playful twist.
Her graduate collection, titled ‘There’s no such thing as the tent fairy’, was created using 100% unwanted materials. All the tents used in the collection were salvaged from UK music festivals. She says ‘I was inspired to use festival tent waste when I discovered that there was no formalised recycling incentive for tents, as a result approximately 250,000 go to landfill each year. I am fascinated in the interplay between urban and rural environments, particularly in Manchester, and aim to create fun and unique garments which allow the wearer to move effortlessly between these two spaces.’
Jess is a Fashion Design Graduate from Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University. She has already begun making meaningful changes to benefit the environment, facing challenges head-on to maximize her impact in everything she does.
She is passionate about using her brand to reduce the impact that festival goers have on the environment. Her work aims to celebrate our precious outdoor spaces, encouraging responsibility for waste and above all to spread the message to take your tent home!
‘I am beyond excited to continue growing and learning as a sustainability focused designer through The Yard Atelier, and continue developing the ideas I explored throughout my graduate collection.’
Jess has recently been awarded with a Santander Universities UK Grant which has given her £1,500 of funding to support development the development of her sustainable fashion brand.
She says, “I’m excited to invest this funding into further developing the circular design concepts I introduced in my graduate collection. The grant will enable me to focus in The Yard Atelier studio over the coming months, continuing to develop my ideas transforming discarded festival tents into clothing and accessories.”
theyardatelier.co.uk 