Slow Fashion Saves the Day: Bristol festival takes on fast fashion with city centre takeover

Love Saves the Day is heading into Bristol city centre on Saturday 18 April with a new event taking aim at fast fashion ahead of festival season.

Taking over Sparks Bristol for one day only, Slow Fashion Saves the Day will transform the space into an interactive hub where festival-goers can swap, repair and customise their clothes - creating one-off looks without buying new.

The event comes as the UK continues to grapple with textile waste, with around 300,000 tonnes of clothing sent to landfill each year despite most being reusable or recyclable. The initiative aims to show that more sustainable choices can be accessible, affordable and social, while encouraging people to rethink how they approach festival dressing.

Across the day, visitors can bring pre-loved items to swap, mend or rework, with drop-in workshops covering everything from embroidery and visible mending to patch-making and upcycling. The focus is on giving clothes a second life while creating unique, personalised festival outfits.

Charlotte Jackson, Sustainability Coordinator at Team Love, said: “Fast fashion has become the norm, especially around festival season - but it doesn’t have to be. This is about creating something social and genuinely useful, where people can learn new skills and leave with something completely unique. Bristol has such a strong culture of individuality and sustainability, so Sparks felt like the perfect place to bring that to life.”

Image - Slow Fashion

Alongside the workshops, the space will feature local DJs playing, a catwalk with photographers and opportunities to win tickets to Love Saves the Day festival. Local makers, vintage sellers and sustainability-focused organisations will also be on site.

Hosted by Fluxx Wyldly and Twisted Theatre, the takeover will bring performance into the space, with charity partners including Unseen and Climate Live connecting fashion to wider social and environmental issues.

Taking place across two floors of Sparks, the ground floor will remain open to the public with vintage and independent fashion, while the main ticketed programme will run upstairs. Tickets are priced at £5, with organisers keen to keep the event as accessible as possible.