At the invitation of Prof. Dr. Elena Martí Ciriquián, whom we hosted at the Faculty of Design in March 2024, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Damjana Celcar, Head of the Fashion and Textile Design Department, and skills teacher Lidija Rotar participated in an Erasmus+ exchange at the renowned Escuela de Arte y Superior de Diseño de Alicante in Alicante, Spain, between May 4 and May 8, 2026.
On the first day of the visit, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Damjana Celcar presented the Faculty of Design and the Fashion and Textile Design study program. She delivered an introductory lecture titled Upcycling and Redesigning of Men’s Shirts, in which she presented the issues of the fashion industry from the perspective of mass consumption and increasing amounts of textile waste, as well as the possibilities of transitioning to more sustainable and circular practices in the fashion industry. She highlighted the importance of redesigning and upcycling clothing and presented projects from the Fashion and Textile Design department, along with other examples of transformation, shirt deconstruction, and textile manipulation techniques.
Subsequently, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Damjana Celcar and Lidija Rotar conducted a workshop titled Creative Upcycling of Men’s Shirts, involving second-year fashion design students. As part of the workshop, students used various techniques to transform surplus men’s shirts into creative solutions, which were exhibited at the conclusion of the workshop on Friday, May 8, 2026.
The visit represents an important opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and experience and strengthens international cooperation between the two faculties in the field of design. We would like to thank the Head of the Fashion Design Department, Prof. Dr. Elena Martí Ciriquián, and Erasmus coordinator Ruth Briz for their hospitality and warm welcome.
