September 04, 2018
Worth Partnership Project
The British Council and Worth Partnership Project launch the European Sustainable Fashion award for designers and SMEs from all over Europe
The British Council in collaboration with the Worth Partnership Project project funded by the COSME program of the European Commission, to reward the best sustainable fashion project presented within the framework of the second call of the WORTH project, and to give them the opportunity to train in one of the most prestigious institutions worldwide in terms of design and fashion in the United Kingdom. In addition, participants can attend the European meetings organized by the British Council in Spain, Greece and France, and present their work within the framework of these professional meetings.
The jury, made up of experts from the sector, together with Kendall Robbins (Acting Senior Program Manager, Architecture, Design and Fashion of the British Council), will especially appreciate the creativity of the proposals and their transforming capacity for the industry. The call is open until October 24.
About Worth Partnership Project
Worth Partnership Project offers € 10,000 financing for projects designed by teams of up to three designers and SMEs from two different European countries active in the sectors: textile / fashion, footwear, jewelry, leather, accessories and furniture / decoration. In addition, the winners receive a personalized coaching program, participation in two networking events and the presentation of their work in two of the main European design events to launch their products and internationalize their careers.
About British Council – Sustainable Fashion
The growth of the fashion industry has meant in recent years a considerable increase in the global consumption of clothing. As a result, there is a growing interest in addressing the design, production and business of textile manufacturing from a sustainable and ethical perspective. In the United Kingdom, this sector contributed more than 28,000 million pounds to the country’s economy in 2015, with more than 900,000 jobs.
To respond to the needs of the sector in Spain to train and connect with the sustainable fashion market in the world, the British Council leads an ambitious three-year program to promote the exchange of good practices among fashion designers in Europe, Through training, creation and exhibition of designs characterized by their excellence. To date more than a hundred designers have been trained thanks to this program in Spain, France and Greece. The next meeting will take place in November in Bilbao as part of the design week before the celebration in January 2019 of an international congress in Athens on the subject.
The textile sector and sustainability in the United Kingdom
The fashion industry in the UK has been at the forefront of research and is a pioneer in terms of sustainable initiatives. These new ways of thinking and consuming textiles have been integrated at all levels of the industry, beginning with higher education, through university research centers such as the Center for Sustainable Fashion, the Designer-Manufacturer Innovation Support Center and the Textile Futures Research Center.
In addition, you can take degrees such as the MA Fashion Futures from the London College of Fashion and the MA Fashion Enterprise and Society of the University of Leeds. Large companies are part of this movement and training is the cornerstone of their research. An example of this is the collaboration between Nike and the London College of Fashion or Marks & Spencer’s and the University of Leeds.
Organizations and communities such as Ethical Fashion Forum, Fashion Revolution, Green Catwalk Challenge, Love Your Clothes and Schwopping give designers the opportunity to promote their ideals and exchange good practices. Great British creators such as Stella McCartney have become world leaders for their ethical and respectful brands of the environment.