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Shared Talent India showcased at London Fashion Week
News release
Ref: 213/09
Date: 18 September 2009
Shared Talent India, one of London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s (CSF) key projects of 2009 funded by Defra and supported by the Indian Government, is to be showcased on the Monsoon stand at Estethica at London Fashion Week.
The project is one of a series of actions being implemented by the clothing and fashion sector under the Defra-led Sustainable Clothing Action Plan and Roadmap process to improve the environmental and ethical performance of clothing.
Born out of a collaboration between UK and Indian designers and London College of Fashion (LCF), Pearl Academy India and AMFI Amsterdam Fashion Institute students, the project has explored and promoted the design applications of a range of sustainable Indian textiles. Earlier this summer the group took part in a ten day workshop in Delhi to produce concepts to showcase Indian sustainable textiles and share their skills and designers and makers. After being showcased at London Fashion Week the collection will go to Indian Fashion Week in October 2009.
The award winning Shared Talent project model, developed to find transformative solutions through collaboration, has already been successfully applied to communities in Ghana and South Africa. Shared Talent India kicked off early in 2009 with a call out by the CSF for applications from UK-based designers and liaised with Pearl Academy to recruit India-based designers* to take part in the project. The designers along with selected AMFI and LCF students travelled to India to engage in a programme of activity including workshops and active design collaboration to produce concepts to showcase the sustainable textiles.
Accompanying the group were members of the Monsoon team; Head of Design, Kim Elliott commented, “This is an exciting collaboration between fashion students and designers in the UK and India which reflects our heritage and we are proud to be involved with it. The students brief for this project will showcase some quite directional design work demonstrating the fashion potential of sustainable textiles, the outcome of which will be displayed on the Monsoon stand at London Fashion Week in September.”
Defra Environment Minister Dan Norris said:
“This is an innovative and creative project that shows how sustainability can be incorporated into the world of fashion. India is one of the key manufacturers of UK fashion items so it’s vital that our sustainable clothing activity includes those impacts that are felt overseas as well as those closer to home. The Shared Talent India project illustrates how sustainability doesn’t mean a sacrifice of creativity and quality.”
Debuting on the Monsoon stand will be a documentary written, directed and produced by London College of Fashion staff and students about Shared Talent India and the use of Indian sustainable textiles and their possible fashion applications. Also on display will be photography and design concepts that document the journey that the textiles undertake from original conception to purchase by the consumer. There will also be an online resource profiling sustainable textiles, Indian suppliers and the design concepts.
A limited edition look book of the collection has been shot and styled by Kerry Dean (Sunday Telegraph Magazine and 125 Magazine) and Katie Felstead (Vogue) respectively and illustrates that beautiful design can be achieved with sustainable fabrics.
For more information about Shared Talent India please contact Project Coordinator Hannah Higginson on +44 (0)7815 065 028 or contact the LCF or Defra press office (details below).
Notes to editors
Shared Talent India Team:
Through partnership between the Defra led Sustainable Clothing Roadmap and the Indian Government under the UK:India Sustainable Development Dialogue, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion explored and shared knowledge on sustainable design practice. Those involved include 12 designers, based in both the UK and India, suppliers of Indian textiles, buyers and undergraduates from London College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion Delhi and Amsterdam Fashion Institute. The initiative aims to innovate towards improved ecological, ethical and cultural criteria in selecting and creating collections and to connect designers and buyers to more sustainable textiles in India.
Bevan Ofosu Agyemang (London College of Fashion), Nitin Bal Chauhan, Samant Chauhan, Saurabh Chauhan, (Pearl Academy), Kritika Dawar (Pearl Academy), Eleanor Feddon, Dhairya Gautam (Pearl Academy), Katharina Grube (Amsterdam Fashion Institute), Gaurav Gupta (AKAARO), Varun Gupta, Sahil Jaisingh, (Pearl Academy), Anjana Janardhan, Jattinn Kochhar, Juanita Koerts, (Amsterdam Fashion Institute), Padmaja Krishnan, Gunjan Kumar (Pearl Academy), Pratyush Kumar (Pearl Academy), Ester Miles (London College of Fashion), Charlotte Moore (London College of Fashion), Jaisheel Nishad (Pearl Academy), Anne Prahl, Holly Pressdee, Nieves Ruiz Ramos, Shazia Saleem, Monalisa Saran (Pearl Academy) Annemaria Ven Der Van (Amserdam Fashion Insitute), Ruta Zabraskaite (London College of Fashion)
A look book of all of the designs is available from the press office including high resolution images of the work.
The accompanying film is available below:
Defra – sustainable clothing roadmap and action plan
Defra launched its Sustainable Clothing Action Plan at London Fashion Week in February 2009. The roadmap process and action plan aims to encourage sustainable processes throughout the lifecycle of products, from design to manufacture to end of life use and recycling. The roadmap process has brought together over 300 organisations, from high street retailers, to designers and textile manufacturers to tackle the environmental and ethical impacts of clothing. Companies and some of the biggest names in fashion have signed up to take actions under the Roadmap’s Sustainable Clothing Action Plan.
More information about the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/roadmaps/clothing.htm
Centre for Sustainable Fashion
The Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) has been set up at London College of Fashion (LCF) to be an internationally recognised and globally connected catalyst for change, fully integrated with industry to create better lives through a sustainable fashion economy. The CSF works across education, research and industry to establish networks and develop capacity within the fashion industry and produce graduates who are fully equipped to effect positive change.
Defra are supporting the CSF to run Shared Talent India project promoting Indian sustainable textiles. The project will incorporate three strands of activity: Research & Development, Shared Talent Project and a series of Dissemination Activities in and around London Fashion Week September 2009.
London College of Fashion
London College of Fashion has an international reputation as a leading provider of fashion education, research and consultancy. The unique portfolio of specialist courses range in level, from Foundation to Postgraduate. The subject range corresponds to the process of the creation, production and promotion of fashion and the management and marketing of those activities. Many of the College’s courses are unique to the UK and offer students an experience unmatched by even a handful of specialist colleges worldwide.
Alumni include Jimmy Choo (shoe designer), Harold Tillman (Chairman of British Fashion Council), Joseph Azagury (shoe designer), Jacques Azagury (fashion designer), Linda Bennett (LK Bennett), Angela Buttolph (journalist & TV presenter), Lindka Cierach (fashion designer), Patrick Cox (shoe designer), Sarah Harris (journalist), Emma Hope (shoe designer), Ashley Isham (fashion designer) and Andrew Ramroop (tailor).
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Page published: 18 September 2009