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  Students from Oakland College in the UK have added chic buttons, collars, fashion cuts and even frills to the ordinary reflective vest used around the world.

Standing out in a crowd doesn't always have to mean a fashion disaster.

A group of British students have just discovered that the boring and basic High-Visibility safety jacket can also be the basis for a range of new fashion garments.They have added chic buttons, collars, fashion cuts and even frills to the ordinary reflective vest used around the world.

There is a growing push for more use of hi-vis vests by car owners, not just in industry.  They are already compulsory across most of Europe, where they must be fitted before attending to a roadside breakdown.

And research in Europe shows a hi-vis vest increases the distance at which drivers can spot a pedestrian by up to 400 per cent.  The hi-vis fashion challenge was run at Oaklands College in London and sponsored by Comma, a care car company. A total of 18 fashion students took part and created a range of takes on the challenge.

“This brief pushes the boundaries slightly but, I hope it reinforces the message that, however it looks, you should wear a high-vis vest if you have to get out of your car at the side of the road," says Sarah Easterby, fashion lecturer at Oaklands College.

"This project channels the students’ creative energy through a different avenue and will hopefully help to prepare them for the fashion industry.”