Fashion & Sustainability Forum at WSA
Delia Crowe (Programme Leader for MA Fashion Design) and Reem Alasadi (Associate Professor in Fashion Practice) organised a Fashion & Sustainability Forum at the School on Thursday 10th March.
The forum presented talks and interviews with industry professionals, networking opportunities and a film, ‘The True Cost’, in the Lecture Theatre.
Reem Alasadi transformed the foyer of Westside with some of her archived Collection pieces, along with displays from the MA Fashion students.
The students’ work on display was creative and innovative and it was great to be able to see some of their mood boards alongside their work.
Some of Reem’s pieces, from her archived Collections, are absolutely stunning. Using sustainability as a feature, Reem says “rather than discarding them, there are many ways to give clothes a second life. That is why my brand was born and has featured collections made from 100% recycled material, which have been shown on London and Japan runways…”
It has been said that “the signature on all Reem’s clothes is artisanship and handcrafted excellence. She applies the same magic to salvaged and re-worked clothes as she does to ready to wear and couture pieces”
The event held numerous talks and interviews with experts in their field, such as Kate Hills (Founder & CEO of Make It British), Alison Jane Reid (Leading British Feature Writer at Ethical Hedonist Magazine and Lucy Tammam (Creative Director & Founder of Tammam), all considered pioneers in ethical and sustainable fashion.
The final talk was ‘Fashion and Emotional Sustainability’, by Caryn Franklin, former Fashion Editor and Co-Editor of ID Magazine, and BBC presenter of ‘The Clothes Show’. Since 2009, Caryn has championed sustainable fashion ideals, along with fashion activism, co-founding ‘All Walks Beyond the Catwalk’.
The day ended with the screening of the film ‘The True Cost’, a documentary film which highlights where our clothes really come from, the cost behind them and who really pays the price.
A Beautiful Agony Collection, SS/AW08, Reem Alasadi
Below are a handful of resources you can find in WSA Library:
Robynne Willowby, March 2016