Essex students design superhero capes for children with cancer
They're being described as 'fabric hugs' for the patients
College students from Essex have designed superhero capes which will be given to children with cancer in local hospitals as part of a project entitled ‘Capes of Hope’ with local charity, the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund.
As part of their studies at USP College, in Benfleet, students studying Textiles & Fashion Design at A-Level, or an Art & Design Foundation Diploma, were set the challenge to design superhero capes for children with cancer so they can wear them whilst having their treatments.
Sallyann Turner, from the Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund, says the idea came from a line in a poem she wrote.
She hopes the capes offer comfort to the children: "The idea is to give encouragement and comfort, just like a fabric hug, when the children are going through chemo treatments to cure their cancer."
All of the capes are unique, and the charity will match the designs to the children's personalities when they hand them out: "There are so many different designs... butterflies, dinosaurs, superheroes.
"There's one little boy who really likes animals and one of the capes has a goat design on the back, symbolising the resilience of the patient in question."
Students also designed a series of badges, which will be given to children in hospital as a reward, following a treatment, procedure or even when they’re given the all-clear from cancer.
Tracy Spurgeon, Art & Design teacher at USP College, said, "Our students fully embraced the brief and achieved wonderful results. We are very proud of them."
The capes and badges are currently on display in Bluewater Shopping Centre, and will be until 1st April, after which they’ll be given to children in hospital.
Sallyann was pleased the public would are getting a chance to admire the effort that's gone into the capes: "This was an opportunity too good to be missed, because it was lovely to be able to spread the design and work of the students a lot further, and raise awareness of childhood cancer."