Arts
Sustainability in fashion is often discussed in terms of materials, supply chain, packaging and recycling, but what is the role of the designer in brands becoming more sustainable? Designers influence the material and manufacturing choices that form the products brands create and yet they are often working independently of the materials and manufacturing processes with little understanding of the impact their design decisions make.How can designers work in a more sustainable way? What does this mean in terms of shifting aesthetics and sustainability, especially in the luxury sector? What tools and training are available for designers wanting to work in a more sustainable way in both large and small brands?The fourth talk in the Techstyler X BOTTLETOP Speaker Series poses these questions to experienced and pioneering panellists, including Kresse Wesling MBE, Co-Founder of Elvis & Kresse, which creates products from reclaimed materials that are otherwise disposed of and Dr Kate Goldsworthy, the Co-Director of the Centre for Circular Design at UAL.Panellists:Kresse Wesling, MBE, Co-Founder, Elvis & KresseKresse is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur and Young Global Leader with a background in venture capital and significant start-up experience. After first meeting with the London Fire Brigade in 2005, Kresse launched Elvis & Kresse, which turns industrial waste into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to charities related to the waste. Elvis & Kresse’s first line is made from decommissioned fire hose, 50% of the profits from this line are donated to the Fire Fighters Charity.The company now collects 12 different waste streams, has several charitable partnerships and is involved with collaborations across industries, including most recently a five year partnership with the Burberry Foundation.Dr Kate Goldsworthy, Co-Director, Centre for Circular DesignAs Co-Director of the Centre for Circular Design (CCD), Kate is a textile designer and academic working to bridge materials science, industry and design through multidisciplinary & practice-led research. Projects currently include Mistra Future Fashion (2015-2019), the EU Horizon 2020 project Trash-2-Cash (2015-2018) and a longstanding working relationship with Worn Again, a revolutionary new recycling-tech company based in the UK.As ‘Reader in Circular Textile Design’ at University of the Arts London her focus is design for material longevity and recyclability, and to engage with science and technology at every stage. Her design work has been exhibited internationally at the Museum of Modern Art Boston, The Science Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London. She is a member of the EPSRC Forum in Manufacturing Research, and was named by the Guardian as one of their top ten Circular Economy experts in 2015.Chair: Brooke Roberts-Islam, Founder, Techstyler; Co-Director, BRIA