Royal College of Art to launch pop-up Regenerative Fashion Hub

The Textiles Circularity Centre (TCC), led by the College’s Materials Science Research Centre, is taking up residence for six weeks this autumn in The Lab E20, a community space in Stratford founded by RCA Fashion alumnus Christopher Raeburn (MA Fashion Womenswear, 2006).

Inviting researchers to take part in live studies looking at different elements of the circular economy in the fashion and textiles industries, the Regenerative Fashion Hub will advance public and industry knowledge on Circular Materials Design, Consumer Experience, and the Circular Fashion Supply Chain.

By opening its doors to the public several times over the course of the six week residency, the Regenerative Fashion Hub also aims to enhance public understanding of the circular economy and how their consumer behaviours impact on the life of materials - see details here. The hub will encourage the community to reimagine the fashion and textiles industry by looking at alternatives such as bio textiles and transparency in production. The exhibition, laid out as an infinity loop, calls attention to different elements of textiles generation, production, and design allowing visitors to experience the lifecycle of a garment from biowaste to finished product.

Funded through the UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research (NICER) programme, the TCC is investigating a circular textiles economy for the UK fashion industry based on producing high value textiles from bio waste. The TCC seeks to propose an alternative model for clothing that will reduce the consumption of materials resources and associated pollution, and to grow economic, human, social, and environmental wellbeing.

Dr Paul Thompson, Vice-Chancellor, Royal College of Art: ‘The Regenerative Fashion Hub is an effective way of sharing the Textiles Circularity Centre’s creative and innovative thinking with the public whilst also allowing the teams to conduct live research. This is a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on the possibilities afforded by transitioning to a circular economy in the fashion industry.’

Chris Grantham, Executive Director, Circular Economy at IDEO, and IDEO Design Partner to the Textiles Circularity Centre: ‘The TCC's work offers an exciting and important vision for a sustainable fashion industry. It challenges the widely held assumption that fashion users can only have a disposable mindset and explores how we might become more invested through new fashion services and opportunities to participate as co-creators.’

Professor Sharon Baurley, Director of the Materials Science Research Centre at the RCA: ‘We are excited about the possibilities of the pop-up Regenerative Fashion Hub as a place to bring people together to discuss the potentials of regenerative fashion. By sharing our research we can demonstrate that by taking a human centred design approach and offering alternative models for production, we can build resilience in the industry and protect the planet at the same time.’

The Regenerative Fashion Hub will be open to the public:

10am to 6pm

19, 26, 28 October 2022

3, 10, 18, 24, 30 November 2022

Location

The Lab E20

East Park Walk

East Village

Stratford

E20 1JB

Located at 3-4 East Park Walk, The Lab E20 has been designed and produced by Christopher Raeburn, founder of RÆBURN, with a focus on positive fashion and sustainable living, supported by Get Living.

The Regenerative Fashion Hub is supported by The Lab E20, Get Living and Fashion District.