Professor Frances Corner, Head of London College of Fashion opened the 3rd annual Kering Talk with the comment that when LCF moves to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2020, all the faculties and facilities will be under one roof, giving the students and teaching staff "literally the space to think". There was a lot of thinking going on last night at this LCFxKering event and Professor Dilys Williams, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at LCF, bookended Frances Corner's comment when she later closed the event by saying she likes to think of fashion by flipping a Zadie Smith's quote to arrive at "what is the point of making beautiful clothes if they don't make you think?"
Frances Corner (L) and Dilys Williams - Photo: Dave Benett
To that end, this Kering talk was a platform to showcase the sustainable principles and practice of Stella McCartney, the designer and the brand. Not the only designer and brand focussing on sustainability, but certainly the most well known, Stella attended the talk to perform a Q&A with a fashion journalist. It was enlightening in so much as Stella candidly described the fashion industry as a whole as "old fashioned", "getting away with murder" and in dire need of a new approach to materials and production methods.
Photo: Techstyler
I was hoping to ask Stella about her desire or success to date in introducing sustainable practices and materials into her Adidas collaboration, but alas, question time was short. She did mention that Adidas made her the first ever pair of vegetarian leather Stan Smiths and she then pleaded with them to make all of their Stan Smiths with this material and see if anyone notices the difference. Consumers might not, but given that the vegetarian version costs up to 70% more to produce than animal leathers, and Stan Smiths are sold at an accessible price point rather than the luxury price points of Stella's brand, the financial team at Adidas definitely would. That's not to say this shouldn't happen, it's just clear that for mainstream sports and leisure wear brands there is less pricing leeway than for luxury brands.
On to the presentation of the 2016 Kering Awards for Sustainable Fashion, which followed Stella's Q&A. Awards were issued on behalf of Stella McCartney and Brioni, both members of the Kering stable, to a number of LCF students who had designed and created products, materials and digital platforms in line with the brands' sustainability initiatives.
Photo: Techstyler
(L to R) Dilys Williams, Elise Comrie, Agraj Jain, and Beatrice Lazat - Photo: Dave Benett
(L to R) Iciar Bravo, Anna Pasalic, Stella McCartney and Irene-Marie Seeling - Photo: Dave Benett
It was difficult on the night to get to grips with the projects and research the students undertook as they were only explained in 30-second summaries during the talk. I've dug a little deeper to get the inside track on the work of Innovation award winner Irene-Marie Seelig, who developed Amadou mushroom skin and proved its properties were workable in accessories, offering an alternative to animal suede and leather.
Photo: Irene-Marie Seelig
Irene's journey began with a focus elsewhere, on health and the medicinal benefits of mushrooms in treating disease, which led her to research the usability of a particular Transylvanian mushroom material as a leather alternative, supported by Jess Lertvilai. Her focus was to improve the textile's aesthetic, durability, circular supply chain and business model.
Photo: Techstyler
The vegetarian mushroom leather textile is a 100 percent renewable, biodegradable and compostable material. Products that are made with this material decompose at the end of their lifecycle and enrich soil, supporting plant growth and feeding back into the ecosystem.
Photo: Irene-Marie Seelig
Irene called upon the expertise of SATRA to test the material with a multitude of finishes and experimented with varying treatments and worked the leather into various thicknesses, eventually using the optimal material to create a prototype shoe in collaboration with LCF Footwear and materials PhD student, Liz Ciokajlo. She is now looking to develop the Amadou mushroom skin further and work with NGO's to create a reliable and sustainable supply chain for this material.
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The CSF website explains that the awards take place after the students receive three months of intensive mentoring from sustainability experts from Stella McCartney, CSF and LCF. "Two prizes will be awarded for each brand: a monetary prize of ten thousand Euros to the project that displayed the most innovation and a three month internship with one of the brands to the student who demonstrated collaboration and rigorous research".
Photo: Techstyler
Professor Dilys Williams engaged the audience with her closing speech, urging the crowd to consider the role education has in creating a more sustainable, responsible fashion industry. "Changing education is the biggest change we can make...practices will then change and so will our culture and society".
The finalists of the 2016 Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion were: Irene-Marie Seelig, Iciar Bravo Tomboly, and Ana Pasalic for Stella McCartney; and students Agraj Jain and Elise Comrie for Brioni.
Photo: Techstyler
For an overview of the finalists' work see the CSF blog
For more information about the work of Professor Dilys Williams and the CSF click here
First Published on Techstyler.fashion