The London College of Fashion Research Centre for Sustainable Fashion announces the launch of the Fashion Values platform, developed in collaboration with Kering, IBM and Vogue Business, which looks at more responsible fashion.
The London College of Fashion‘s Centre for Sustainable Fashion is partnering with Kering, IBM, and Vogue Business to design a global, online platform dedicated to sustainability and aimed at rethinking the fashion industry to make it more responsible.
This new global platform, called Fashion Values, is designed to provide open access dedicated to sustainability learning. It is designed to raise public awareness of the climate emergency, to bring the expectations and voices of future generations to the fore.
The Fashion Values platform was conceived after the success of the partnership between Kering and the London College of Fashion, which brought together nearly 70,000 people from around the world for an open-access course on fashion, luxury, and sustainable development. This first partnership has resulted in a series of graduates being awarded the Kering Prize for Sustainable Development.
Inspired by this first project, Fashion Value benefits from major partners in addition to Kering, such as IBM and Vogue Business, but also critical thinkers and academics from around the world.
“Fashion Value is about changing who and what is taught and learned, and to what end. Fashion Values aims to encourage a mass of answers to the problems of mass extinction,” explains Professor Dilys Williams, Director of the Center for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion.
Launched during London Fashion Week
Launched during London Fashion Week, the platform’s inauguration included the screening of a new exclusive film by award-winning visual artist and director Nadira Amrani, as well as an in-depth discussion of the Fashion Values project.
Nadira Amrani’s film illustrates the project through the ideas of Fashion Values‘ partners and the collective shift from the “age of extraction” to the “age of regeneration“, the theme of this year’s work.
Among the guests for the launch of this platform will be Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council who will host the event and who will exchange with Roni Brown, the director of the London College of Fashion and professor at the UAL.
Chaired by the Director of the Center for Sustainable Fashion and Professor Dilys Williams, the event will present the project partners: Marie-Claire Daveu from Kering, Karl Haller from IBM, and Sara Maino from Vogue Italia and ambassador of Fashion Values. Graduates of the London College of Fashion and former winners of the Kering X LCF prize, Abhinov Asokan and DianJen Lin, also attended.
The role of Fashion Values partners
According to their field of expertise, each of the partners will bring their knowledge to the project. The London College of Fashion, known to be the world leader in fashion research and education, is mobilizing its Fashion Sustainability Research Center to bring together experts and open dialogue on critical issues affecting the fashion industry today.
IBM, a specialist in hybrid clouds and artificial intelligence, will provide students with access to its technology and innovations to guide the industry towards more sustainable practices. For example, IBM is working on the digital aspect of the platform to enable it to host a range of educational content, from event calendars to podcasts, all with open access.
Karl Haller, IBM Partner, said: “IBM is pleased to be part of Fashion Values and to inspire the next generation of fashion leaders by giving them access to the technology and business innovations that can guide the industry towards more sustainable practices“.
As a continuation of its partnership with the London College of Fashion, Kering will continue to bring its knowledge and expertise to the fashion and luxury goods industry. The group will be responsible for proposing avenues for reflection and educating participants on the various aspects of sustainable development while instilling sustainability at all levels of the fashion industry.
Kering’s Director of Sustainable Development and Head of International Institutional Affairs, Marie-Claire Daveu, said: “Kering is proud to be a part of the fashion industry’s values. This partnership enables the group to provide a framework to educate and inspire the next generation through a comprehensive program that includes the launch of a brand new platform showcasing cutting-edge sustainability ideas as well as transformational innovations and a challenge to address today’s global issues“.
Finally, the media partner Vogue Business has the role of informing students and professionals in the best possible way, with exclusive content on the subjects of sustainability, which is one of the main subjects of investigation and media reporting in the fashion, luxury, and beauty sectors. With input from sustainability experts and editors of the title, Vogue Business will provide an in-depth analysis of the key environmental issues facing the fashion industry.
“Our goal is to recognize and support a generation of fashion professionals to understand the value of living nature and engage in restorative practices in different places and in different ways,” says Professor Dilys Williams. “This implies a major change of compass, but fashion can be a compass of change itself. But first we need to break the mold of where, how, and from whom we learn”.
The calendar of upcoming events is available on the Fashion Values platform website.
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