And those stores are in every city across the country.

But now a group of artists and designers have banded together to try to create a distinct Leeds look, different from any other city, for the young and fashion conscious.

They call themselves the Leeds Crafts Mafia and their aim is to make Leeds different – by dressing its trendy, clubbing set in clothes that are sexy and sassy.

They also want to save the world.

Rubbish

Members of Leeds Crafts Mafia make clothes and jewellery from a huge range of recycled materials.

And to make their work even more eco-friendly, a lot of it is made from rubbish thrown out by the very market at which the clothes are aimed.
Mafia members go round the student housing areas of Leeds and collect items thrown out by students who empty their drawers and cupboards before they move away at the end of term.

Then they refashion what they have found into completely new outfits, using everything from old cassette tapes, bottle tops, seat belt fabric, old quilts and old knitwear.

Now, to show off their work, they have organised a joint fashion sale in the city to introduce buyers to just what home-grown Leeds talent has to offer.

The co-founder of Leeds Crafts Mafia is Lizzie Harrison, a fashion graduate and creator of Proto Clothing who specialises in using recycled and organic materials.

She said: "It is hard to market independent labels, but it is important – not only to create business but to get the Leeds look on the fashion map."

She describes the city's young look as urban streetwear which is mainly worn on the party scene.

Dave Willis, 32, who has made a collection of crafted bottle-top jewellery, describes the group as "like the wombles."

He said: "When students move away for the summer, they leave a lot of stuff behind. We go around and try to use whatever we can find."

The designers each have their own individual style, producing a variety of one-off pieces – bright, bold prints, chunky jewellery, hand crafted clothing and printed T-shirts.

One label called Ketchup clothes sells only garments made from recycled cloth or remodelled items and says it was set up "as a reaction to environmental concerns and our wasteful approach to clothing."

Prices vary according to how much work the designer has put in and what materials are used.

As well as designing and selling their own clothes, the group runs workshops to encourage more people to choose design as a career option and to keep alive skills such as needlecraft , which are often seen as old-fashioned and irrelevant to fast-paced, modern society with its disposable attitude to clothing.

The work of Leeds Craft Mafia will be on sale at 28 Bleinham Terrace, opposite Leeds University, for the next two weeks.

And to add to the experience, shoppers will hear a selection of the city's up-and-coming music talent played through the speakers.
Gordon Edwards, 22, has set up a record label in the city called Dirty Load Records and he will be choosing the music.

He said: "I wanted to create an outlet for local artists to showcase their music and the label represents artists that wouldn't have had a chance otherwise."

For more information on how to get involved in the work of Leeds Craft Mafia or for links to the individual labels, visit www.leedscraftmafia.co.uk.