Speaker: Alison Gwilt, Reader in Fashion and Sustainability, ADRC

Alison Gwilt is Reader in Fashion and Sustainability in the Art and Design Research Centre in C3RI. She is a practice-led researcher who is interested in exploring design interventions within fashion and textile design practice. She is the editor of the book ‘Shaping Sustainable Fashion’ (with Timo Rissanen) published by Earthscan in 2011, and her forthcoming books include, ‘A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion’ for Bloomsbury (December 2013) and ‘Fashion Design for Living’ for Routledge (October 2014).

Title: Fashion Design for Living

This talk explores the positive contribution that fashion design can make within society by developing products that can enhance and enrich our lives. Traditionally fashion garments are designed, produced and measured by economically driven factors, however there is an opportunity to improve fashion's contribution to society by responding to a broader set of values that foreground environmental, social and cultural needs.
The talk will highlight new approaches to fashion practice that have been driven by users, lived experiences, actual and everyday problems or scenarios. Moving from creative concepts for sustainable fashion, to fashion for ageing and health, the talk will signal the possible opportunities for collaboration with researchers in other disciplines to create and achieve new/future directions and outcomes.