Sustainable fashion course Out of Fashion announces new edition for September

Sustainable fashion course Out of Fashion, created by Connecting Cultures in 2014, announces a new edition this year with renewed content and a partnership with the training institution Poli.design.

The course, which was carried out in collaboration with Cna (National Confederation of Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises), the Gianfranco Ferré Foundation and the support of the Consulate General of the Netherlands, will begin on 18 September and will end on 20 February 2021.

The aim of the course is to train key figures intent on bringing the culture of sustainability, an indispensable element for competing in the markets of the future, into their fields of work. It is therefore aimed at professionals, executives, emerging entrepreneurs and young workers in the fashion, textile, accessories and retail sectors from functional areas related to product development, design, fashion design, technical design, public relations and communication, marketing. The course is also open to students and new graduates who are highly motivated to study sustainability issues in depth in their curriculum. At the end of the course, participants will acquire knowledge of more efficient production processes, will be able to orient themselves in the complex context of sustainability and propose feasible solutions having acquired the know-how to start this vital path.

The course consists of six modules over two days each that will be held on Friday and Saturday online for a total of 72 hours

The coronavirus emergency has highlighted how much the mechanisms that have so far governed the fashion system, the dizzying increase in volumes that corresponds to a reduction in profits; the ever-shorter production times that chase fast fashion; the enormous surplus of materials that end up in landfills, are incompatible with the scenario of a profoundly changed world, which needs growing critical thinking, which gives strength to innovative scientific and technological research and more conscious behaviour on the part of consumers.

The change is already underway and requires attention, new knowledge and responsibility for the planet's non-renewable resources. From this context Out of Fashion was born, a training product that offers a 360-degree vision of sustainability in the textile, clothing and accessories sector, addressed in all its many aspects: new business models, fibres, organic and synthetic materials and environmental sustainability, technological innovations, traceability of the supply chain, corporate responsibility and workers' rights, communication and relationship with the consumer, successful case histories.

The faculty includes, among others, Rita Airaghi, director of Fondazione Ferré, Dalia Benefatto, fashion product innovator, Chiara Colombi, associate professor, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano, Anna Detheridge, president of Associazione Connecting Cultures, Janice Deul, fashion and cultural activist, Michele Rocco, head of Csr monitoring & development Intesa San Paolo, Mauro Rossetti, Associazione Tessile e salute, Marina Spadafora, fashion designer Coordinator Italia Fashion Revolution, Matteo Ward, CEO and co-founder Wrad.

The course consists of six modules of two days each that will be held on Friday and Saturday in online mode, for a total of 72 hours. The last module will be held in presence, with the possibility of online distance participation. Many topics covered. From the culture of sustainability and its new business models to sustainability as a systemic process with an in-depth examination of materials and production.

Enrolments are open and will close at the beginning of the course which costs 1,230.00 euro + taxes.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.IT, translated and edited to English.

Photo: Out of fashion, workshop at Connecting Cultures' press office