From The Big Half T-Shirt to Hijab: Circular Fashion Takes Shape at FEL in Haringey
24-08-2026
A running shirt designed to make sport more inclusive for Muslim women has been given a remarkable second life, thanks to a collaboration bringing together ASRA Club, Alterist, London Marathon Events and Haringey-based Fashion-Enter Ltd (FEL).
In 2023, ASRA Run Club worked with The Big Half to create its first long-sleeved finisher T-shirt, helping Muslim women take part without compromising their faith or needing additional layers. Now, these t-shirts have been transformed into hijabs.
The project began when London Marathon Events approached Alterist with the idea of repurposing the existing Big Half materials. With FEL supporting the manufacturing process, women from ASRA were invited to the company’s Haringey factory to see the first prototype being created.
For Fashion-Enter, the project brings together two increasingly important areas of its work: local garment manufacturing and circular fashion. Turning an existing sports top into a completely different garment requires technical expertise, from pattern development and cutting through to construction and finishing. Fashion-Enter’s team, including Technical Director Claire Solley, helped bring the concept from an idea to a finished prototype.
The result is particularly meaningful because the material’s original purpose was already rooted in inclusion. A garment created to help Muslim women feel represented in sport is now being transformed into something designed specifically for that community.
Fashion-Enter CEO Jenny Holloway paid tribute to the teams behind the project, saying: “Huge shout out to everyone at Fashion-Enter Ltd that makes these projects such a success.”
The collaboration demonstrates what circular fashion can look like in practice: rather than allowing garments to become waste, existing materials are redesigned, remade and given a new purpose. And the work is happening locally.
Based in Haringey, FEL has built its reputation around UK garment manufacturing, technical development, skills and increasingly sustainable and circular production. The ASRA project shows how those capabilities can connect community-led ideas with practical manufacturing expertise.
What started as a long-sleeved running top for The Big Half has now become something much more: a symbol of inclusion, community and the potential to give garments and ideas a second life.
