One of the most important developments in our support of sustainability is our partnership with fashion conglomerate, Kering.
Kering own some of the world’s most recognised brands, including Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, so the partnership presents a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn more about how sustainable practices can be implemented into the industry.
Both Kering and LCF recognise that sustainability is the greatest imperative of our time and share a sense of urgency to utilise our creativity in order to transform fashion’s practices and culture.
Kering have already taken steps towards improving sustainability within its brands, such as Gucci’s zero-deforestation handbag, Volcom’s 100% organic cotton denim collection, and the Kering Environmental Profit and Loss Account, a tool which calculates the monetary value of any environmental damage caused along their supply chains.
This is why we have agreed to work together over the next five years to support further sustainable practices and innovation. Engaging LCF students, as well as designers, teaching staff, researchers and industry experts, the partnership plays an important role as an incubator for new ways of thinking about sustainable fashion.
With François-Henri Pinault, Chief Executive Officer of Kering. Image via LCF News Blog © Alex Maguire
One of the key ways in which Kering is supporting LCF over the next five years is in co-creating our curriculum.
This is equipping a generation of our graduates with ecological literacy and skills for design, which we hope will create new habits, practices and values.
The partnership also includes The Kering Talks, which take place every October, where business leaders from the fashion industry will speak on the latest developments in the area of sustainable fashion, sharing new thinking and breakthroughs in best practice.
The final aspect of the partnership is the Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion, an annual competition, which I recently blogged about here, open to third-year BA and Masters students. Two winners are awarded a monetary grant and an internship placement within Kering brands, a fantastic prospect.
This partnership offers an unparalleled opportunity, not only to create new ways of educating our students, but also encourage discussion around the issue of sustainability, and honour student work which demonstrates sustainable innovation.
Together we plan to build Better Lives.
