Fashion SEEDS: Fashion Societal, Economic & Environmental Design-led Sustainability Erasmus Project

Project Title

Fashion SEEDS: Fashion Societal, Economic & Environmental Design-led Sustainability

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Research and innovation; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

We live in unprecedented times, where prosperity relies on connecting societal, economic and environmental agendas. Whilst fashion is a global industry offering livelihoods to 50+ million people, generating over €2.4 trillion, its practices are built on systems that are causing severe environmental and social damage. The societal impact of the industry is a contentious issue due to working practices and the wider impact of fashion production and consumption. The industry is oft-cited as being the second most environmentally polluting industry in the world; due to its contribution to water stress and its pollution, biodiversity loss, CO2 emissions, chemical and material waste, air pollution and non-renewable energy use. The economic sustainability of the industry is additionally at risk, as fashion design practices do not take account of the diminishing resources upon which the industry relies. Fashion industry requires new models of education and environments for innovation, revised course content, assessment methods and the means for tutors to develop new knowledge and practices.

Whilst sustainability education courses exist in some disciplinary areas, desk based research identifies that very few universities with design courses internationally engage with fashion for sustainability teaching and learning in systematic or cross-referenced ways. Furthermore, there is a lack of design teachers with the relevant knowledge and capabilities to deliver fashion sustainability education.

The 3-year FashionSEEDS project aims to develop a holistic framework for design-led fashion education for sustainability applied across levels, courses and locations in the consortium higher education institutions, incorporating course content, teaching & learning practices & methodologies, tools & resources and learning environments.

The project will produce a benchmarking report (O1) to align knowledge and build a context reference for designing an innovative and robust design-led sustainability framework for fashion education that will span from undergraduate to postgraduate teaching and learning (O2). A learning resource repository (O3) will evidence best practices and new pedagogical methods, whilst supporting and enriching learning in this area. Alongside, the project will deliver sustainability teaching materials (O4) that will inspire and enable educators to apply the framework to their own curriculum development.

A joint staff training workshop for 12 teachers (C1) and two intensive study programmes for 80 students will be organised (C2 and C3). Teaching and learning activities will be organised to test, reviewed and enhance the framework and resources for design led fashion education for sustainability.

Finally, a future skills foresight 2030 report (O5) will enable the understanding of the future skills and competencies for fashion design needed to impact wider societal, economic and environmental systems related to this industry. Beyond the project, the framework will offer guidelines for establishing an accreditation process to further enable best practice in higher education sector and ensure quality and cross learning experience (O6).

The project results will be research and industry informed, and implemented into each partner HEI’s curriculum at BA/MA level and will enable teachers development. Project results will be widely disseminated as open educational resources and through dissemination and communication activities carried out by the partners including the organisation of two multiplier events for industry and academic stakeholders.

Design for sustainability skills are needed in order to innovate for prosperity at all scales of employment in the fashion industry. FashionSEEDS addresses the need for design-led education in fashion to produce graduates with awareness and skills for professional roles and societal contribution in a changing world. This involves problem-based learning, application of sustainability values, development of knowledge and processes, aesthetic prowess, product and service functionalities with a cross-cultural understanding, to contribute to systems change in fashion.

The project delivery methodology relies upon systems thinking, participatory methods, problem-based learning approaches, design for transformational practices and collaborative methods.

The project is delivered by a partnership of four leading European fashion HEIs pioneering fashion sustainability approaches. Partners in this project have connected through a recognised imperative and a shared commitment to providing design-led fashion and sustainability education and the potential to scale the initiatives that they are each developing at BA and MA levels. The partnership reach out and impact is further extended through a network of seven associate partners representing academic, societal and industry stakeholders.

Project Website

https://www.fashionseeds.org

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 436704 Eur

Project Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS LONDON & Country: UK

Project Partners

• POLITECNICO DI MILANO
• DESIGNKOLEN KOLDING
• Eesti Kunstiakadeemia