Oh Polly lays down sustainability and upcycling challenge to London College of Contemporary Arts students

Online fashion retailer Oh Polly has announced a partnership with the London College of Contemporary Arts.

For the second year running, it challenged BA Fashion Design students to reimagine deadstock Oh Polly garments, focusing on sustainable practices, key S/S 2026 trends, and fresh approaches to shape, texture, colour, and form. Working in teams, students created pieces that balanced innovation and mindful design.

Shania Pallicer McPherson, Sustainability Coordinator at Oh Polly, says: “We’re proud to continue our upcycling collaboration with LCCA for a second year, supporting emerging talent as they explore innovative ways to reimagine our return stock. Each group developed creative pieces aligned with the circular design brief, and it’s been a pleasure to see their ideas brought to life."

Further information, including the winning team, can be found here.

Physical firsts

Earlier this month, Oh Polly opened its first permanent retail store, with Los Angeles the choice for its physical debut.

In a LinkedIn post, Kya Jones, Tech Project Manager, said: "Within two months of joining Oh Polly as a Project Manager, I was asked if I could operationally open our first flagship store in Los Angeles, CA.”

“With the mindset of “there’s nothing I can’t do”, I willingly agreed. While the store was well into it’s design, the gap was ensuring it could operationally and technically function. Less than seven months later, the store is open and in business."

In this time frame, the following has been delivered: A PoS system that natively syncs with the customer base; Tech to understand customer demographics which will support its marketing and central teams in targeting the correct customer base; Software to allow customers to book and hold fitting rooms in advance; Built a fully functional retail operation connecting the LA store to warehouses and factories around the world.

Jones concluded: "And that’s just touching the tip of the iceberg! I’m confident it’s the shared “can do” attitude across the business that got our flagship live and functioning successfully. We may be operational but there is always room for continuous improvement."

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.