Our friends over at Re-dress in Ireland have been BUSY!
In less than one month, Re-dress will present FASHION EVOLUTION, Ireland’s 3rd ethical fashion week:
“Fashion Evolution aims to re-vitalise the spirit of the Irish fashion industry, with a schedule of exciting events catering for consumers, producers, retailers and supporters of fashion alike.” (Re-dress)
“Our mission is to provide the Irish fashion sector with the tools needed to make more sustainable fashion choices.” (Re-dress)
We don’t think they’ll have any trouble accomplishing this goal–just take a look at what they have planned!
“The fashion industry faces major challenges in both resources and labor, but designers featured in the Eco Chicexhibition strive to change the general attitude of fashion and consumption.” (Scandinavian House, on Eco Chic)
Will you be in New York sometime this year? If so, you are in luck with so many exhibits, instillations, seminars and talks surrounding responsible design in the fashion industry, including a lecture by Matilda Tham on “Metadesigning Fashion – Scenarios for Sustainable Fashion Futures” (see below). You may remember we have spoken on Matilda Tham before on SA, as she and Nadira presented their research alongside each other at this years FEI conference, back in early March. Click here for more information on her presentation and to visit the FEI conference site.
The Swedish Institute’s Eco Chic exhibition has scheduled New York as its first American stop. This traveling exhibit has been on tour since the winter of 2008, and has already visited Minsk, Kiev, Riga, Istanbul, and most recently Berlin.
“The ecological and ethical production of clothing begins with the design of a garment, and continues right through to the finished product, including the transparency of fashion companies about their production processes and materials.” (Scandinavian House, on EcoChic)
“Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion opens at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America, May 5, 2010 and showcases Swedish fashion designers who take an environmentally-friendly and ethical approach to their work, without sacrificing style. On view through August 21, this exhibition illuminates high-fashion alternatives to much of today’s environmentally harmful clothing.”
Symposium – Towards Sustainable Fashion Directly followed by the Opening Party for Eco Chic in Volvo Hall
Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 6:30 pm, Victor Borge Hall
RSVP required. Please respond by Thursday, April 29 to malin@amscan.org
A symposium, in conjunction with the opening of the exhibit Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Fashion, with fashion designers who take an environmentally-friendly and ethical approach to their work, without sacrificing style. The panel of speakers includes designers and fashion experts from Sweden and The United States – Marcus Bergman, Karin Stenmar, Sass Brown and Eviana Hartman, and is moderated by Hazel Clark, Dean of the School of Art and Design and Theory, Parsons: The New School for Design.
The symposium is followed by a party celebrating the opening of the exhibit Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Fashion at Scandinavia House. The exhibit will be open until 9:30 pm.
Talk and Walk Eco-Fashion Going Green & Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion
Wednesday, June 9, 10:30 am
FREE, but registration is required
Registration for this event will open in May
Join us for a walk through New York City visiting two exhibitions that highlight sustainability in fashion. First have a tour with curator Jennifer Farley of The Museum at FIT’s Eco-Fashion: Going Green and then visit Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion at Scandinavia House.
Meeting point: The Museum at FIT, 10:30 am, 7th Avenue (@ 27th Street), continuing to Scandinavia House
This event is organized in collaboration with The Museum at FIT. For information, visit www.fitnyc.edu.
Janette Crawford, who runs one of our favourite blogs, fashion loves people, has shared a wonderful interview she had originally done forKCFreePress.com. The interview is with Liz Bohannon, founder of Sseko Designs, an organization working to provide women with tuition money they need to attend college in Uganda through social enterprise.
I encourage you to head over to fashion loves people straight away to check out the full interview.
I wanted to share this video clip with you here, as a source of encouragement. Liz Bohannon speaks passionately on the power of social enterprise in creating sustainable change—her dedication and optimism is so inspiring! Click here for more videos from the interview.
“The IIT Institute of Design’s 9th Annual Design Research Conference (DRC) will be held at the Spertus Institute in downtown Chicago on May 10-12th 2010. It will feature exceptional international speakers and opportunities to spend time with our brilliant community of designers, planners, researchers, educators, students, managers and executives concerned with understanding people.” (drc)
This year’s conference includes a design research competition. The deadline to apply is April 2nd, but hey…you still have 3 days! The winners will get to speak at the conference, and will be included in the program.
Title: drc: Design Research Conference 2010// IIT Institute of Design Location: Chicago Link out: Click here Start Date: 2010-05-10 End Date: 2010-05-12
As a Vancouverite, I am so excited for Design Week Vancouver: Design Currency 2010.
I’ve written before on SA on the inspiring research and work of both Nathan Shedroff, author of Design is the Problem, and David Berman, author of Do Good Design. Both Shedroff and Berman will be speaking at the conference on sustainable practice, alongside Valerie Elliott. Click here for a full list of speakers.
To ice my gluten-free cake, the outstanding Giant Ant Media is one of the supporting partners: there is no doubt this event will be brilliant and inspiring.
Title: Design Currency 2010// Design Week, Vancouver Location: Vancouver Link out: Click here
The Earth Awards is a global search for creative solutions designed for the 21st Century. The award represents six categories: Built Environment, Product, Future, Systems, Fashion, and Social Justice.
Dilys Williams, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, has been included in the Selection Committee, and will be judging the Fashion category, along with other designers, architects, scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, writers, humanitarians, environmentalists and spiritual leaders.
The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) has launched a new publication, the Fair Wear formula.
“The design by Ruben @ Buro RuSt combines with the more than readable texts by Anne Lally combine to create an innovative, attractive description of the FWF approach to improving labour conditions in garment supply chains. In hardback or paperback.” (FWF)
Image: FWF’s focus (image from the Fair Wear formula, (c) Buro RuSt
A roundup of some of the stories, headlines, and updates you may be interested in from in and around the community of socially responsible fashion design.
I had the pleasure of working on this project, and I am so excited that Social Alterations could support this important initiative in Canada, and I will explain the extent of our participation in an upcoming post, so stay tuned!
All the information you need has been made available to you, the public, and you are invited to vote online for the designer you believe best represents ‘eco design’ in Canada. Once you have cast your vote, the decision will be left in the hands of the jury, who will select their winning choice from the top three finalists.
The criterion for voting is based on production, material, design, and special features. Take your time getting to know each designer: you only get one vote, so make it count!
Check out the prize, valued at approximately $50,000!
A free membership in Fashion Takes Action
A three-month national PR campaign, provided by Third Eye Media
Feature in EcoSalon – the number one green fashion blog!
Participation at Nolcha Fashion Week’s Ethical Fashion Preview in NYC in September 2010
Travel and accommodations for two, provided by Air Miles Reward Program
75 meters of eco-friendly fabric, supplied by Telio (to make a sample collection to show in NYC)
Look book photo shoot with full creative team including photographer, models, hair & makeup and stylist
Look book graphic design by pencil design
$1,000 towards Fair trade and Organic certification, provided by Ecocert.
The voting will close @ midnight on Friday, April 16th.
Synthetic Aesthetic asks: How would you design nature?
The project is a collaborative effort between artists/designers and scientists/engineers that strives “to bring creative practitioners and those who are expert at studying, analysing and designing the synthetic/natural interface together with the existing synthetic biology community to help with the work of designing, understanding and building the living world.” (Synthetic Aesthetic)
Through the creation of “balanced exchanges” artists/designers will spend time in bioengineering labs, and scientists/engineers will spend their time in design studios, for 12 unique residencies.
The application deadline is fast approaching (March 31st), but there is still time to apply for this amazing project.
