February 28, 2011 by Cath
Celebrate Fairtrade products and find out more about how the certification benefits producers and suppliers, for products like Fairtrade cotton
“Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.”
February 25, 2011 by Cath
Sustainability and CSR are increasingly areas of focus across industries, but are especially important for the fashion and textile industry, one of the comparatively most polluting industries. Several experts and industry insiders will talk about new perspectives and discuss cases from the industry. Speakers will be academic researchers and fashion industry professionals. The mix of speakers is intended to provide the most accurate and exciting insights to conference participants.
CSF Reader in Sustainable Fashion Kate Fletcher is the Keynote Speaker on 27th April on Platforms of next practice for fashion
Recommended for design directors, fashion- and textile designers, educators as well as business managers who wish to broaden their knowledge on sustainability.
Prices: 2 day full conference, more than 20 speakers, breakfast, lunch and afternoon coffee: € 295
Dinner Wednesday night at Crowne Plaza : € 60
by Cath
It was good to see so many of the designers on our Business Support Programme showcasing their A/W11 Collections at London Fashion Week, Esethica and EcoLuxe.
February 16, 2011 by Cath
BLINK LONDON is a fashion reporting and consultancy service offering a unique insight into the best of British fast fashion womenswear. Designer and fashion forecaster Lucy Williams, realised that there was a demand for a new type of reporting service:
“I became frustrated by other services that were over complex or too divorced from the reality of turning around product at speed. I instinctively knew what was missing because I have worked as a designer for some of the best loved high street brands, starting my career with Whistles, Warehouse and then to Marks & Spencer where I created the Autograph own label collection. I understand how to break new ground by creating innovative new collections as well as energising established collections and strengthening a brand’s identity. I knew that there was a genuine need for a service like BLINK”.
BLINK reports are split into product specific categories- denim, soft wovens, print, jersey, knit, graphics and accessories. BLINK provides over 130 images each month in each report, in an easy to use format combining clarity and creativity. The reports include detailed product shots, street style shots, vintage and pantone referenced colour palettes. They believe the clear, constant flow of up-to-the-minute information saves clients precious time and increases their speed to market, which is critical in the fast paced global fashion market.
In addition to the reporting service BLINK also work closely with a variety of clients on consultancy projects. Whether clients need a seasonal trend package, a whole seasonal collection designed or a multitude of creative support services in between, BLINK’s team of experts, from highly experienced colorists through to talented designers, know how to deliver.
“When we work with clients our aim is to fully understand their needs and respond to any brief with enthusiasm, dedication and moreover deliver great results”
BLINK are also very interested in exploring ways of working in a more ethical and sustainable way within their own business, as well as incorporating that message into the work they do with clients- particularly as they work within the ‘fast fashion’ arena. Within BLINK, reports are printed on FSC approved paper and the printing source works in a sustainable and ethical manner. Stationary and art materials are all sourced from ‘green’ suppliers.
Lucy also recently lectured at the American Intercontinental University on recycling and sustainability.
“When mentoring start ups or working with established brands on consultancy projects, we always aim to impart ideals, considerations and concepts around sustainability and working smarter/ cleaner/ greener, incorporating many of the learnings gained on the CSF business development course.”
February 15, 2011 by Cath
CSF Reader in Sustainable Fashion Dr Kate Fletcher will be joining the Craft Forward Symposium in San Francisco as a visiting artist on Saturday 2nd April. There will be a community photo shoot on site as part of her on-going fashion research project, Local Wisdom, which explores the “craft” involved with garment use.
Local Wisdom records skillful, cultivated, and ingenious practices associated with tending and wearing clothes as a way to improve the quality of our engagement with fashion, while reducing the quantity of materials consumed.
Craft Forward examines the multifaceted practices that both distinguish and blur the historically charged edges between craft, art, design, architecture, and writing. The symposium brings together a diverse group of makers and thinkers to explore the ethos of craft and its resurgence in the twenty-first century.
Craft Forward capitalizes on what might be called the “third wave of craft.” Issues resurfacing as cutting edge in the craft debate—corporal sites of knowledge, alternative economies, sustainability and slow movements, diversity and identity politics, and production from the local to the global—have historical antecedents in both the Arts and Crafts movement and the 1960s Bay Area studio craft movement. With its contributions to both these movements and its stellar lineage of pioneering artists working in the crafts, fine arts, design, and architecture, California College of the Arts is uniquely situated to be at the forefront of these national and international debates.
Craft Forward addresses the growing number of constituencies interested in the creation of meaning through the nuances of materiality. The symposium fosters debates on issues of critical making within an expansive definition of craft between makers and scholars in a wide range of disciplines including craft, art, design, architecture, activism, art history, anthropology, and science. Within this transdisciplinary framework, the goal of this symposium is to identify the ways in which craft thinking navigates the territory bridging these disciplines and to envision the trajectory of craft practice in the future.
by caralee
jotta is an art and design community founded in partnership with University of the Arts London. jotta collaborate with emerging artists and designers from the world’s top art and design institutions; exhibiting their work through our contemporary art platform, sourcing opportunities, grants and prizes, and working with them on commissioned design projects
Through this collaborative process jotta produces creative output for organisations and companies such as: Virgin Atlantic, The Barbican, The Victoria & Albert Museum, Intel, Hilton Hotels, Samsung, Wieden + Kennedy amongst others.
jotta.com has over 8000 practising artists and designers working across a broad range of disciplines. Find out more about these artists and designers on jotta through interviews, advice, blogs and critical writing in Published. Get up to date events from our exhibition calendar.
If you are an artist or designer join for free here, and find opportunities to collaborate with jotta, and the wider jotta community.
February 14, 2011 by Cath
In Sunday’s Observer the CSF Business Support Programme gets a great mention in a piece by Lucy Siegle about Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge:
As Colin Firth dusts down his tux for this evening’s Baftas, his wife Livia will be highlighting the world of eco couture in an upcycled Gary Harvey dress. It’s all part of her Green Carpet Challenge…
There is a new breed of fashion designer whose aesthetics match their ethics. This is manifested in the materials they use (picked for lowest ecological impact), the way they produce their work, their supply-chain values and even their ambition for the piece after it has been worn. It chimes with those of us who love fashion but are turned off by the industry’s continuous exploitation and oppression of garment workers and appalling record on environmental pollution and waste. In the UK this alternative industry is represented by the Ethical Fashion Forum; a new crop of socially and ecologically aware designers is being trained at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion, and ethical designers are showcased at Estethica, part of London Fashion Week. Globally, ethical fashion has grown in status, too, from a trend into a fully fledged movement.
February 11, 2011 by Cath
A new how-to craft book called State of Craft is being put together and submissions are being accepted for how-to projects.
The book is being published by Cicada Books, a small London-based publishing company specialising in illustrated books (the website is currently being redesigned, but you can still see what it’s about here: www.cicadabooks.co.uk), and will be distributed through Thames & Hudson.
A few years ago, a book called Making Stuff with Black Dog Publishing – an alternative craft book filled with hip and quirky craft projects that led the way for numerous publications in a similar vein – and its follow-up, Making Stuff for Kids were published. They are both still popular and widely available, and you can check them out here: http://blackdogonline.com/craft/
If you are interested in being involved, please email stateofcraft@gmail.com by Friday 18 February including the following information:
1. A one- or two-line description of your craft-project idea.
2. A jpeg or pdf image of the item or a web link where we can view your creation.
You will be informed if the idea will work for the book by the end of February.
by Cath
London Fashion Week is almost here with another packed catwalk schedule and exhibition dates showcasing A/W 2011 Collections.
From February 18th – 22nd, the Exhibition at London Fashion Week will be housed under one roof in the neo-classical surrounds of Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Open: 10am – 7pm each day, with an early closing time on Tuesday 22nd of 6pm.
Estethica will be showcasing cutting edge designers committed to working eco sustainably, including several labels on our Business Support Programme including Michelle Lowe Holder, Ada Zanditon, Lu Flux and Partimi.
by Cath
+ + + + + + TFRC’s Future Fashion Textiles Competition, 2011 + + + + + +
with VF Corporation, USA
Textile Futures Research Centre is to host a design competition with VF Corporation
VF Corporation is a US based, $7 billion apparel conglomerate and parent company to over 25 global apparel brands, including The North Face, Vans, Lee, Wrangler, Eastpak, Jansport, and Nautica, as well as several others. They will hold an Innovation Summit to in September 2011 for the executive teams of each of VF’s brands, where there will be an opportunity for University of the Arts London students to present cutting-edge design research and concepts.
The Textile Futures Research Centre (TFRC) is one of the UAL’s six research centres, and is renowned for its innovative and ground breaking work in the fields of practice-based textiles design research, which explores digital, science and sustainable textiles. This TFRC / VF competition is open to all students and recent graduates (2 yrs) from Central St Martins, London College of Fashion and Chelsea College of Art and Design, including: BA and MA Textiles at CSM and CCW; MA Fashion, CSM, and MA Digital Fashion, LCF; and TFRC & UAL Research Students
Themes
The competition covers five future textiles themes, which will be explored by eminent researchers in the various fields. The launch event will be on Monday 21st February 2011 (2 – 6pm, Lecture Theatre 272 High Holborn):
Theme 1 ‘Simplicity Regained’ – Dr Emma Neuberg
Theme 2 ‘Trust Rebalanced’ – Adam Thorpe
Theme 3 ‘Networked Lives’ – Di Mainstone
Theme 4 ‘Responsible Living’ – Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
Theme 5 ‘Health & Wellness’ – Suzanne Lee
Prizes
*10 x TFRC Making and Mentoring Awards (£250 cash and 2 feedback sessions with a mentor)
*Top prize of £1500, work included in the VF Corp USA Summit exhibition, & trip to the summit, September 2011
Timescale
Launch Event: Monday 21st February 2011
Deadline for Proposals: March 2011
Mentoring Awards announcement: April 2011
First Mentoring Session: May 2011, Innovation Centre, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Second Mentoring Session: June 2011, Innovation Centre, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Final deadline and Judging: Early – mid July 2011
