"The fashion system has to change, de-link from its economic system, and acknowledge the validity of other systems that have been negated and erased. We need to eliminate fashion racism. This opens the radical possibility of regenerative fashion: a qualitative step beyond reducing the negative impacts of the fashion industry and working towards clothing production that is restorative for both nature and cultures."
How can we recover from the addiction to a system we are all part of? First, we took a critical look at the dominant fashion system and our role in it during Intervention 01: Introspection. Read Sandra Niessen’s long read 'Regenerative Fashion: There can be no Other’ and watch the first whataboutery. In a 90-minute long conversation led by moderator Stephanie Afrifa, we build a bridge between Niessen’s framework and the state of fashion in different parts of the world. Together with several international guests like Clare Farrell co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, cultural intellectual property & fashion lawyer Monica Boța-Moisin and associate professor of sociology Rolando Vázquez.
Anthropologist Sandra Niessen (PhD 1985) has researched Batak weaving (North Sumatra, Indonesia) since 1978, resulting in four books, a film, and numerous articles as well as activism to encourage the tradition. She was assistant professor in the Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, Canada (1989–2004) and is a Steering Committee member of the Research Collective for Decolonizing Fashion.
Photo: MJA Nashir
Stephanie Afrifa is a cultural innovator based in The Netherlands. She currently works as editor at large for Vogue Magazine:
“I use my voice to amplify dope moments, movements and people. I find happiness in meaningful connections, thoughtful communication, critical thinking and creating safe spaces to catalyse change and build bridges.”
Photo: Aline Bouma
