Education holds the potential to reinforce systems and revolutionize them. Fashion education has served and fed the current global fashion system. It has also inspired and driven change in the global fashion system.
What kinds of fashion educational practices exist, can we share to learn from each other, and can we build together? What kinds of fashion education are needed to build more inclusive, just and beneficial (fashion) systems? How can we turn our reflections into actions?
Social Justice within and through Fashion Education was the subject of this year’s Conversation, bringing together Ben Barry, Dean of the School of Fashion at The New School’s Parsons School of Design (US); Lesiba Mabitsela, artist/designer and fashion practitioner and co-founder of The African Fashion Research Institute (South Africa); and Tanveer Ahmed, Senior Lecturer for Fashion and Race at Central Saint Martins (UK).
Rich and inspiring Provocations were presented by Christina Moon, Associate Professor Fashion Studies, Parsons School of Design, New York City (US); Yvonne Ntiamoah, Head of the Fashion and Design Department at Radford University, Accra (Ghana) and Zowie Broach, head of fashion at the Royal College of Art, London (UK)
The event was friendly supported by The American University of Paris, netzwerk mode textil, Culture(s) de Mode, The Senat Chancellery Berlin & Fashion Seeds
PROVOCATION I
Christina Moon
Associate Professor, Fashion Studies,
Parsons School of Design, New York
PROVOCATION II
Yvonne Ntiamoah
Head of Fashion and Design Department Radford University, Accra
PROVOCATION III
Zowie Broach
Professor & Head of Fashion, Royal College of Art, London
THE CONVERSATION:
SOCIAL JUSTICE | FASHION | EDUCATION
Ben BarryDean of the School of Fashion at The New School’s Parsons School of
Design, New York
IN CONVERSATION WITH
Tanveer Ahmed Senior Lecturer in Fashion and Race at Central Saint Martins UAL,
London
&
Lesiba MabitselaDesigner and Co-founder of the African Fashion Research
STUDENT THINK TANK
PRESENTATION
THE UTOPIA OF FASHION: IMAGINING THE
FUTURE OF FASHION EDUCATION
with Nina Birri, Madeline Czarnik, Ethan Flanagan, Titia Grefe, Elea Jenner, Khulan Klecker, Olivia Nielson, Leonie de Payrebrune et de St. Seve, Luzie Richter, Emily Spennato, Laurin Stecher, Brooke Stewart & Linnea Wingerup, facilitated by Wenzel Mehnert
THE STUDENT EXHIBITION
HOPING & DOUBTING
Participating students:
Ronja Biggemann, Nina Birri, Jacinda Carlisle, Adam Cohen, Fanny Freudner, Marlene Haase, Jasmin Halama, Levi Hare, Natalie Hillyer, Youjung Kim, Yasmine Moriel, Riotpantproject, Cynthia Abi Samra, Mia Alvazuri Sommerfeld, Laurin Stecher, Camilla Volbert & Sara Wynn
Organisation and Co-Curation by Sara Wynn
Design by Kathrin Hunze & Tsingyun Zhang
HOPING & DOUBTING
Participating students:
Ronja Biggemann, Nina Birri, Jacinda Carlisle, Adam Cohen, Fanny Freudner, Marlene Haase, Jasmin Halama, Levi Hare, Natalie Hillyer, Youjung Kim, Yasmine Moriel, Riotpantproject, Cynthia Abi Samra, Mia Alvazuri Sommerfeld, Laurin Stecher, Camilla Volbert & Sara Wynn
Organisation and Co-Curation by Sara Wynn
Design by Kathrin Hunze & Tsingyun Zhang
CONTRIBUTORS
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Alistair O’Neill
Professor of Fashion History and Theory,
Central Saint Martins, London
Professor Alistair O’Neill is a writer, curator and professor of Fashion History and Theory at Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London). He is a member of the Photography and the Archive research centre, sits on the editorial board of Fashion Theory and writes regularly for Aperture magazine. His research interests include twentieth-century and contemporary fashion; menswear; fashion photography in relation to visual culture; fashion curation and histories of display; and London as a centre for fashion cultures.
Professor of Fashion History and Theory,
Central Saint Martins, London
Professor Alistair O’Neill is a writer, curator and professor of Fashion History and Theory at Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London). He is a member of the Photography and the Archive research centre, sits on the editorial board of Fashion Theory and writes regularly for Aperture magazine. His research interests include twentieth-century and contemporary fashion; menswear; fashion photography in relation to visual culture; fashion curation and histories of display; and London as a centre for fashion cultures.
Christina H. Moon
Ph.D., Associate Professor, Fashion Studies, Parsons,
The New School, New York
Christina H. Moon is Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies in the School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons School of Design. Her research looks at the social ties and cultural encounters between design worlds and manufacturing landscapes across Asia and the Americas, exploring the memory, migration, and labor of cultural workers. Moon writes on fashion, design and labor, material culture, social memory, the ephemeral and everyday, and ways of knowing and representing in ethnographic practice. She is a fellow of the Social Science Research Council, Graduate Institute of Design, Ethnography, and Social Thought and India China Institute at The New School, and member of the Fashion Praxis working group at Parsons. Her most recent book project is Ephemera, in collaboration with the photographer Lauren Lancaster, which traces fast-fashion across Los Angeles, Seoul, and New York. She is also author of Labor and Creativity in New York's Global Fashion Industry and the co-edited volume, Fashion and Beauty in the Time of Asia.
Ph.D., Associate Professor, Fashion Studies, Parsons,
The New School, New York
Christina H. Moon is Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies in the School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons School of Design. Her research looks at the social ties and cultural encounters between design worlds and manufacturing landscapes across Asia and the Americas, exploring the memory, migration, and labor of cultural workers. Moon writes on fashion, design and labor, material culture, social memory, the ephemeral and everyday, and ways of knowing and representing in ethnographic practice. She is a fellow of the Social Science Research Council, Graduate Institute of Design, Ethnography, and Social Thought and India China Institute at The New School, and member of the Fashion Praxis working group at Parsons. Her most recent book project is Ephemera, in collaboration with the photographer Lauren Lancaster, which traces fast-fashion across Los Angeles, Seoul, and New York. She is also author of Labor and Creativity in New York's Global Fashion Industry and the co-edited volume, Fashion and Beauty in the Time of Asia.
Dilys WilliamsFounder & Director of Centre
for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL
Dilys Williams is founder and Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion, a University of the Arts London Research Centre, based at London College of Fashion. Dilys’ work explores fashion’s relational ecological, social, economic and cultural elements to contribute to sustainability in and through its artistic, business and educational practices. Trained at Manchester Metropolitan University and holding a UAL professorship in Fashion Design for Sustainability, Dilys publishes widely on fashion and sustainability in peer reviewed academic journals and published books. Dilys’ work draws on extensive experience in lead womenswear designer roles for international collections, including at Katharine Hamnett, Liberty and Whistles. This industry experience is complimented by a longstanding internationally recognised teaching and research portfolio centred on the development of sustainability centred design practices, based on principles of holism, participation and transformation design. She is a member of the UNFCCC Global Climate Action in Fashion and sits on advisory committees for Positive Luxury and the Global Fashion Agenda. Her place on the Evening Standard London’s Progress 1000 list in 2015, 2016 and 2017 evidences the public and academic influence of her work alongside regular appearances on broadcast television, radio and magazines including recent appearances on BBC World, Sky News, Radio 4, WWD, the Gentlewoman, Vogue and Elle magazine.
Dilys Williams is founder and Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion, a University of the Arts London Research Centre, based at London College of Fashion. Dilys’ work explores fashion’s relational ecological, social, economic and cultural elements to contribute to sustainability in and through its artistic, business and educational practices. Trained at Manchester Metropolitan University and holding a UAL professorship in Fashion Design for Sustainability, Dilys publishes widely on fashion and sustainability in peer reviewed academic journals and published books. Dilys’ work draws on extensive experience in lead womenswear designer roles for international collections, including at Katharine Hamnett, Liberty and Whistles. This industry experience is complimented by a longstanding internationally recognised teaching and research portfolio centred on the development of sustainability centred design practices, based on principles of holism, participation and transformation design. She is a member of the UNFCCC Global Climate Action in Fashion and sits on advisory committees for Positive Luxury and the Global Fashion Agenda. Her place on the Evening Standard London’s Progress 1000 list in 2015, 2016 and 2017 evidences the public and academic influence of her work alongside regular appearances on broadcast television, radio and magazines including recent appearances on BBC World, Sky News, Radio 4, WWD, the Gentlewoman, Vogue and Elle magazine.
Elke GaugelePh.D., Professor of Fashion and
Styles, Institute of Education, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
Elke Gaugele is professor for Fashion and Styles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and head of the Austrian Center for Fashion Research (ACfFR). She is a cultural anthropologist, researcher, writer, and curator, her publications include: Fashion and Postcolonial Critique (Sternberg 2019 ed. with Monica Titton); Dressing Dissent: Fashion as Politics, Special Issue Fashion Theory. The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, Vol. 24, 2019 (ed. with Monica Titton); Aesthetic Politics in Fashion (ed. Sternberg 2014).
Elke Gaugele is professor for Fashion and Styles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and head of the Austrian Center for Fashion Research (ACfFR). She is a cultural anthropologist, researcher, writer, and curator, her publications include: Fashion and Postcolonial Critique (Sternberg 2019 ed. with Monica Titton); Dressing Dissent: Fashion as Politics, Special Issue Fashion Theory. The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, Vol. 24, 2019 (ed. with Monica Titton); Aesthetic Politics in Fashion (ed. Sternberg 2014).
Valerie Steele
Ph.D., Director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
Valerie Steele is Director and Chief curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she has personally organized more than 25 exhibitions since 1997. She is also founder and editor in chief of Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, the first peer-reviewed, scholarly journal in Fashion Studies. As author, curator, editor, educator and public intellectual, Valerie Steele has been instrumental in creating the modern field of fashion studies and in raising awareness of the cultural significance of fashion.
Ph.D., Director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
Valerie Steele is Director and Chief curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she has personally organized more than 25 exhibitions since 1997. She is also founder and editor in chief of Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, the first peer-reviewed, scholarly journal in Fashion Studies. As author, curator, editor, educator and public intellectual, Valerie Steele has been instrumental in creating the modern field of fashion studies and in raising awareness of the cultural significance of fashion.
Zowie Broach
Professor, Head of Fashion RCA,The Royal College of Art, London
Zowie Broach is Head of Programme for FASHION RCA. Since arriving in 2015 she has radically changed the paradigm of what it means today to consider how we might design in FASHION. Zowie previously co-founded the label BOUDICCA, the first independent British Label to show during Couture, Paris, as well as exhibit at and become part of the permanent collections in a number of international museums, such as Chicago Arts Institute and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Whilst at the RCA, FASHION has established a new series of platforms – Optimal Systems, Digital 360 and Bio as Design that expand the practise of Fashion. This is not exclusive of values, economy and philosophy of self; taking on board the myriad of potentials that need investigating to assure a practise that can reveal and express the question of identity for our future. Zowie Broach has been voted into the top 500 Fashion Leaders by Business of Fashion for the last 5 years and was a member of the British Fashion Trust jury in 2019.
Professor, Head of Fashion RCA,The Royal College of Art, London
Zowie Broach is Head of Programme for FASHION RCA. Since arriving in 2015 she has radically changed the paradigm of what it means today to consider how we might design in FASHION. Zowie previously co-founded the label BOUDICCA, the first independent British Label to show during Couture, Paris, as well as exhibit at and become part of the permanent collections in a number of international museums, such as Chicago Arts Institute and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Whilst at the RCA, FASHION has established a new series of platforms – Optimal Systems, Digital 360 and Bio as Design that expand the practise of Fashion. This is not exclusive of values, economy and philosophy of self; taking on board the myriad of potentials that need investigating to assure a practise that can reveal and express the question of identity for our future. Zowie Broach has been voted into the top 500 Fashion Leaders by Business of Fashion for the last 5 years and was a member of the British Fashion Trust jury in 2019.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Agata Rudnicka, PhD, Adiunct Faculty of Management University of Lodz, Poland. Ben Barry, PhD, Chair and Associate Professor of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. Berit Greinke, PhD, Junior Professor of Wearable Computing at The Berlin University of the Arts and The Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF), Berlin, Germany.Cally Blackman, Senior Lecturer Fashion History and Theory, Central Saint Martins, London, UK. Christina Moon, PhD, Associate Professor of Fashion Studies, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons School of Design, NYC, US. Dagmar Venohr, PhD, Lecturer of History and Theory of Fashion, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland. Elizabeth Kutesko, PhD, Pathway Leader BA Fashion Communication: Fashion History and Theory, Central Saint Martins, London, UK. Elke Gaugele, PhD, Professor for Fashion and Styles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and head of the Austrian Center for Fashion Research (ACfFR), Vienna, Austria. Francine Pairon, Ex-Founder & Director of la Cambre Mode(s), Ex-Founder & Director of Institut Français de la Mode – Master in Fashion Design & Accessory, Brussels, Belgium. Francesca Granata, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons School of Design, NYC, US. Friederike von Wedel, Director and Founder Beneficial Design Institute & Dean of Study Affairs “Sustainability in Fashion & Creative Industries”, AMD, Berlin, Germany. Lucia Ruggerone, PhD, lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. Marloes ten Bhömer, Senior Research Fellow, Kingston University, UK. Monika Rosinska, PhD, Assistant Professor, Head of Design Theory and Research, Dean’s Deputy for Interdisciplinary Projects, Faculty of Design, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland. Nina Stevenson, Education for Sustainability Leader, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UK. Sophie Kurkdjian, PhD, Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies, The American University of Paris, Co-Director Culture(s) de Mode, Paris, France. Stephanie Strauss, CEO Mandhari Agency, Co-Director Culture(s) de Mode, Paris, France. Wowo (Waldemar) Kraus, Professor of Fashion Design at the Berlin University of the Arts, Germany.
Agata Rudnicka, PhD, Adiunct Faculty of Management University of Lodz, Poland. Ben Barry, PhD, Chair and Associate Professor of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada. Berit Greinke, PhD, Junior Professor of Wearable Computing at The Berlin University of the Arts and The Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF), Berlin, Germany.Cally Blackman, Senior Lecturer Fashion History and Theory, Central Saint Martins, London, UK. Christina Moon, PhD, Associate Professor of Fashion Studies, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons School of Design, NYC, US. Dagmar Venohr, PhD, Lecturer of History and Theory of Fashion, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland. Elizabeth Kutesko, PhD, Pathway Leader BA Fashion Communication: Fashion History and Theory, Central Saint Martins, London, UK. Elke Gaugele, PhD, Professor for Fashion and Styles at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and head of the Austrian Center for Fashion Research (ACfFR), Vienna, Austria. Francine Pairon, Ex-Founder & Director of la Cambre Mode(s), Ex-Founder & Director of Institut Français de la Mode – Master in Fashion Design & Accessory, Brussels, Belgium. Francesca Granata, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Art and Design History and Theory, Parsons School of Design, NYC, US. Friederike von Wedel, Director and Founder Beneficial Design Institute & Dean of Study Affairs “Sustainability in Fashion & Creative Industries”, AMD, Berlin, Germany. Lucia Ruggerone, PhD, lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. Marloes ten Bhömer, Senior Research Fellow, Kingston University, UK. Monika Rosinska, PhD, Assistant Professor, Head of Design Theory and Research, Dean’s Deputy for Interdisciplinary Projects, Faculty of Design, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland. Nina Stevenson, Education for Sustainability Leader, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UK. Sophie Kurkdjian, PhD, Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies, The American University of Paris, Co-Director Culture(s) de Mode, Paris, France. Stephanie Strauss, CEO Mandhari Agency, Co-Director Culture(s) de Mode, Paris, France. Wowo (Waldemar) Kraus, Professor of Fashion Design at the Berlin University of the Arts, Germany.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Moritz Bailly, podcast sound editor. Hannah Groß, digital event manager. Gina Mönch, graphic designer (studioheyhey). Johannes von Weizsäcker, composer. Levi Hare, production & research assistant (AUP). Natalie Hillyer, production & research assistant (AUP). Linnea Wingerup production & research assistant (AUP). Sara Wynn, production & research assistant (AUP). Haleh Afshar, production assistant (UDK). Anastasia Almosova, production assisten (UDK). Huyen Mai Hoang, production assistant (UDK).Khulan Klecker, production assistant (UDK). Provost Bill Fisher (AUP). Kilian Ordelheide, Director of Communications (AUP). Brenda Torney, Coordinator of Academic Budgets and Grants (AUP).
The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education wants to create connections and actions within and across different fashion learning cultures and contexts. It was founded in 2019 as a participatory and outcome-oriented space and a series of conferences focused on the learning and teaching of fashion. It aims to explore and illustrate the diversity and complexity of the field and the practices of fashion education, and to foster a greater understanding of its pasts, presents and futures – methods, values and didactic, pedagogic and epistemological questions – creating a global exchange to inspire mutual learning, collaborative research and shared action.
The Multilogues are organized by Franziska Schreiber & Dr. Renate Stauss, who are brought together and driven by their love for making and wearing fashion, for learning and thinking through fashion, and their belief in its connective, educational and transformative potential.
The Multilogues are organized by Franziska Schreiber & Dr. Renate Stauss, who are brought together and driven by their love for making and wearing fashion, for learning and thinking through fashion, and their belief in its connective, educational and transformative potential.
ORGANISERS
Dr. Renate Stauss is Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at The American University of Paris in the Department of Communication, Media and Culture. She is also a lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts.
Franziska Schreiber is a fashion designer
and currently holds a professorship for „fashion I body I digitality“ at the
Berlin University of the Arts.
FASHION IS A GREAT TEACHER – THE FASHION EDUCATION PODCAST
Fashion is a great teacher because it provides a fantastic lens to learn about the world and its people, about history, politics and culture. Join Renate Stauss and Franziska Schreiber, to discover the most inspiring voices in fashion education, their take on the how and why of learning and teaching fashion, their doubts and hopes, their lessons from fashion.
MULTILOGUE MOMENTS
This series of Fashion is a great teacher brings you Provocations and a Choir of Ideas from The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education 2023: De-Fashioning Education; a Critical Thinking and Making Conference. We invited speakers from every continent to share their concerns, questions and ideas: Anjana Das, Mayank Mansingh Kaul, Sandra Niessen, Sunny Dolat, Otto von Busch, and Christina H. Moon, as they navigate the complexities of de-fashioning education, cultural inclusivity, sustainability, and transformative partnerships. This series invites listeners to join a global community rethinking fashion education for essential de-growth and diverse, interconnected futures.
Listen to the latest episode!
MULTILOGUE MOMENTS
Season 2 / Episode 4
Otto von Busch & Christina H. Moon on ‘Fashion & Vitality’
This episode brings you ‘Fashion & Vitality’ – the Provocation Dialogue by Otto von Busch & Christina Moon at The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education 2023: De-Fashioning Education – A Critical Thinking and Making Conference in Berlin.
Otto von Busch is Professor of Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design. In his research he explores how the powers of fashion can be bent to achieve a positive personal and social condition with which the Everyperson is free to grow to their full potential.
Christina Moon is an Associate Professor of Fashion Studies in the School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons School of Design, The New School in New York. Her most recent project on the wardrobe explores the interplay of image, clothing, text and textile through diaspora, exile, and longing.
THE FASHION EDUCATORS’ WORLD MAP
Come together! - towards a collaborative community of fashion educators. Join this global community mapping, inaugurated at The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education 2020
Please join on Padlet!
FASHIONING EDUCATION
Fashioning education is a collaborative research initiative to open, facilitate and formalise the debate on fashion education against the backdrop of global social transformations.
Project website
© 2022 Fashion is a great teacher
Franziska Schreiber & Renate Stauss GbR
Lychener Str. 82
10437 Berlin
design & implementation
Gina Mönch, Anastasia Almosova
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