Who needs Swarvoski

Yes, London Fashion Week is almost here. Did you think that we here at Give Me One Good Raisin are too ascetic to care? Make no mistake: we care. It's an over-the-top celebration of creativity, and we're all about celebrating creativity in all it's crazy forms.

And anyway, designers like Jasper Garvida make it easy to care: take a look at these images of the upcycling masterpieces he'll be unleashing in his new collection. Jasper first made a name for himself as victor of Sky One's last series of Project Catwalk, but these days you'll find his work on Shakira Caine, Jodie Kidd, Sophie Dahl and Liz Hurley.

Right now he's putting his finishing touches on his catwalk show taking place this Saturday, but just over a year ago he was competing on the small screen against 13 other fashion hopefuls while being judged by industry insiders like Grazia editor Paula Reed, singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and designer Henry Holland. Ben di Lisi mentored the contestants as they worked to new challenges week after week, while Kelly Osborne fronted the series.

Although appearing in reality television has been the kiss of death for many a starry-eyed celebrity aspirant, Jasper says there have been no negatives to doing Project Catwalk. “My intention was to show how creative I can be; winning wasn’t my goal,” he insists. “I just wanted to show what I can do so I took risks all the time.”

And although the cameras are no longer rolling, he's continuing to take risks as he explores the outer limits of creativity. In his new collection, Jasper re-styled Asahi bottle tops into embellishments on dresses in an admirable endeavour that he's calling "couture recycling". He hammered the bottle tops flat, punctured holes through the metal, placed large sequins on top, stitched them all on and secured them in place with beads. 

Want to know more about the man himself? Visit West London Living where my interview with Jasper appears.