Our Story

Our Story

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion first opened its doors in April 2008, and since then we have been so very busy challenging the way in which the fashion industry thinks, designs, practices and learns. Here are a few of our achievements and milestones to date that chart our progress from when we were just a seed of an idea to where we are today.

2012

  • JANUARY - CSF appoints Jennifer Ballie as DISC researcher, working with CSF and the DISC team on research projects relating to innovation in design and manufacture for sustainability in fashion. DISC (Designer-Manufacturer Innovation Support Centre) is an ERDF funded project supporting fashion manufacturers and designers to innovate their business, products and services.
  • FEB-JUNE - Better Lives Lecture Series: Dr Danka Tamburic and CSF host an exciting series of talks on diverse subjects related to the theme of Better Lives, subjects include ‘ageing and self esteem’ and ‘self-esteem and the modern trend towards surgical/cosmetic procedures’, organised in collaboration with Dr Paul Matts of Procter & Gamble Visiting Professor at London College of Fashion.
  • MARCH – Prof Lucy Orta opens Fabulae Romanaeat Maxxi - National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome. Curated by Maria Luisa Frisa and commissioned by Ermenegildo Zegna, Fabulae Romanaeis an ambitious sculpture and video installation specifically created by Lucy + Jorge Orta for MAXXI that will form part the Museum’s new display Tridimensionale. Exhibition runs from 22 March – 23 September 2012.
  • MARCH - CSF share a platform with TFRC (UAL’s Textile Futures Research Centre) in Milan for Sustainable Fashion: an Industry R-Evolution event, hosted by The British Consulate-General in Milan and the National Chamber for Italian Fashion.
  • MARCH - Kate Fletcher and Lynda Grose’s book, Fashion and Sustainability: Design for Change is published by Laurence King.
  • APRIL - Sustainable Fashion Lab: a collaborative venture between M&S, Oxfam and CSF, to engender a ‘gift away rather than a throw away culture’ for fashion, concept and curation by Dilys Williams, Director of CSF with participation of CSF team and designers working on CSF projects.
  • APRIL – Kate Fletcher’s project Local Wisdom successfully receives Leverhulme funding award.
  • MAY - Centre for Sustainable Fashion celebrates its inauguration as a University of the Arts Research Centre with a Transformational Thinking and Practice Field Day.
  • MAY – WWF Pandamonium, a collaboration between WWF and CSF’S Prof Lucy Orta and participating LCF MA students.
  • MAY - CSF launches Teaching and Learning for Sustainability, a staff development module, conceived by Dilys Williams CSF Director and Nina Stevenson, Education and Curriculum Development co-ordinator.
  • MAY – Prof Helen Storey’s ground breaking project Catalytic Clothing is nominated in the Sustainability category of the Condé Nast Traveller awards.
  • MAY – Prof Lucy Orta’s book Clouds|Nuages is published.
  • JUNE - Prof Helen Storey’s Catalytic Clothing project exhibits its Field of Jeans installation at The Sunshine Coast’s World Environment Day, Queensland, Australia. Details on more events during 2012.
  • JULY - Sustainable Fashion Summer School, Copenhagen, with CSFs Director Dilys Williams and leading tutors from selected European Universities, hosted by KEA and including CSM’s Mo Tomeney and Goldsmith’s Rose Sinclair.
  • SEPTEMBER – Sandy Black’s Knitting: Fashion, Industry, Craft published by V&A.
  • NOVEMBER – Sandy Black’s The Sustainable Fashion Handbook is published by Thames & Hudson featuring articles by our Director, Dilys Williams. Packed with authoritative facts and inspiring images and ideas, this is an indispensable reference for 
professionals, students and anyone with an interest in fashion, sustainability and innovation.

2011

  • JUNE - i-Sustain: The beginning of a year long collaboration between CSF and iD magazine to showcase the diversity and beauty of design for sustainability in fashion from designers working with CSF from the ERDF London Style project, a three year funded project for the centre to develop and support London based designers in design for sustainability.
  • JULY – Centre for Fashion Science combined with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion.  The newly formed Centre for Sustainable Fashion provides cutting edge work of the highest quality across elements of research, teaching and enterprise.
  • JULY - Sustainable Fashion Summer School, Copenhagen, with CSFs Director Dilys Williams and leading tutors from selected European Universities, hosted by KEA and including CSM’s Mo Tomeney and Goldsmith’s Rose Sinclair
  • SEPTEMBER - CSF Launches Design for Sustainability Resources for tutors and students. www.sustainable-fashion.com/resources
  • NOVEMBER - Fashioning the Future Awards: Now in its 3rd year, CSF’s Global Sustainable Design for Fashion initiative, seeking and supporting emerging talent from across the world and showcasing work, selected by a panel judges whose expertise spans fashion design, sustainability, biodiversity and enterprise at the highest levels. This year’s Awards  ‘Unique’ engage CSF in collaboration with UNCTAD, initiative for biodiversity in fashion, Body Shop, Harold Tilman.
  • NOVEMBER - CSF Highly Commended in the Green Gown Award for Skills for our London Style business support programme, managed by Alex McIntosh. Whilst London College of Fashion won the Green Gown Award for Social Responsibility with the Fashion Education in Prisons Project, delivered by BA Womenswear, with support from the CSF.

2010

2009

2008

  • APRIL - CSF launches with the publication of first report,Volume 1.0: Fashion & Sustainability – A Snapshot Analysis. Fashion broadcaster and commentator Caryn Franklin is announced as CSF Ambassador
  • JUNE -Fashioning the Future 2008 is launched – the first and only international student awards for sustainability in fashion
  • JUNE – CSF are awarded the Green Gown Award for Social Responsibility for the Shared Talent I project
  • AUGUST - Shared Talent II takes place in South Africa and Ghana in collaboration with Tabeisa and LCF
  • SEPTEMBER – Appointment of Kate Fletcher as Reader in Sustainable Fashion at LCF
  • OCTOBER – Fashioning the Future Summit – 350 thinkers, doers and innovators are brought together to debate the future of the fashion industry.
  • OCTOBER - Volume 2.0: Fashioning the Future is published alongside the summit.
  • OCTOBER -The finalists of the Awards 2008 are profiled in a central London catwalk show and exhibition

2007

  • MAY – Green is the New Black – a week of debate and discussion at London College of Fashion involving industry pioneers, staff and students from around the world
  • AUGUST - Shared Talent I in South Africa – a collaborative design workshop spearheaded by London College of Fashion
  • SEPTEMBER – Defra launches its Sustainable Clothing Roadmap with support from London College of Fashion
  • SEPTEMBER – Dilys Williams is appointed as the Director of Sustainable Fashion