How students can change the fashion industry

Sustainability lies at the core of the teaching on KEA’s design programmes and their students possess the very latest knowledge of materials, colours and new digital tools.

But they’ll also meet a fashion industry where this may not always be the case. And where being an insisting greenhorn in the face of an old hand with fixed ways of doing things might be difficult or unsound.

"The biggest hurdle in achieving 100 percent sustainability is the current culture - the way we are brought up, the norms and values of our society, as well as the traditions we uphold," says Karen Blincoe, also known as Mrs. Sustainability, because she has worked with sustainability long before it became hip.

For her, education is simply the key to a more sustainable world. And this is also what Centre for Sustainable Fashion points to:

"Higher education institutions play an active role in promoting economic growth, but they also play an important role in shaping our society through contributions to new knowledge and our understanding of the world. Educational establishments have a unique position to reflect on our current reality and develop new and relevant forms of knowledge."

A number of teachers at KEA Design have explored how the young generation can be the force that can make fashion sustainable if companies are brave enough to let them in. The results can be read in 'FASHION AT A TURNING POINT', which illuminates the subject from several different angles.

What do fashion companies need from students to accelerate sustainable initiatives and what skills do they require?

How best to help students get through with their passion for sustainability and not least their knowledge and skills, which may be a step further ahead than those of the businesses?

First of all, by inviting them in, says Tina Hjort. But not for business as usual:

"Sustainable change needs to be radical, and that calls for a critical approach. The young generation is ready to act and contribute their skills and perspectives, so invite them in. Let them present their perspective, let them be game changers and the ones who create a sustainable future."

Young people have an inherent openness and drive towards change. As UNESCO describes it: "Young people are often also best positioned to change, correct, reconfigure and renew the social systems that put them at risk."

The students' deep knowledge, skills and competences stem from a strong commitment to sustainability, which is reflected in Tina Hjort's interview with student Cam-Ly N Nguyen:

"Sustainable fashion is not only design, science and business. It’s everything. So, actually, it's knowledge. You don't have to have great knowledge about fashion, but you need to have great knowledge about sustainability. We want to improve fashion - it's not sustainability we're trying to improve. So, we acquire knowledge of sustainability in order to be able to go back and look at fashion, to see what is not sustainable at the moment, to bring about change."

But change is hard. Really hard. Therefore, Tina Hjort's study points out that companies founded on sustainability have a much better chance of succeeding.

Young courage

Youngsters are full of courage, and they have nothing to lose:

"We are risk-takers. If we make mistakes, it doesn't matter because we have time ahead of us. Making a mistake.is not the end of the world. If we can see that it works but needs to be improved, then we improve it," Ly-Cam Nguyen says in the book.

But the young generation must be supported in maintaining the passion when they enter a business that may be less courageous and stands firm on business as usual.

In the chapter 'Cultural Analysis as Key: Unlocking and Igniting Student Potential', Regitze Nehammer therefore suggests that in addition to technical skills and the latest professional knowledge, students' self-esteem and rhetorical tools should also be strengthened:

"Insight into the culture and industry conditions, a rhetorical toolbox and attachment of mentors during and after their studies can give students more confidence and enable them to engage constructively with the fashion world."

The students Regitze Nehammer interviewed for her study emphasised the need for personal relationships with mentors and teachers during their studies, but also after graduation.

"It all comes down to passion and motivation - if you're passionate, nothing can stop you. Mentors can help them stay motivated, raise their self-esteem and support them in engaging with the fashion industry."

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Translated into English by Camilla Reslet