The Fashion Commons: Reclaiming our Clothing Culture

Wednesday May 14th
Doors & drinks 6.30pm; Event starts 7pm

Clothing culture has been hijacked by the growth imperative. The industrial fashion system is creating insupportable amounts of waste and pollution whilst failing to provide for human needs. The industry contributes 10% of global carbon emissions, with this on track to grow 40% by 2030 (from 2022). This growth is enabled by fossil fuel by-products, with 67% of fibres made from cheap synthetics.

There are alternatives. We can reclaim our clothing cultures. Commons-based clothing models, in which communities steward their collective wealth, are overwhelmingly sustainable and sufficient, meaningful and culturally enriching.

As part of Kairos' year-long series on the Commons, we’re coming together to co-create a vision for how to revive our clothing systems.

In this participatory event - co-hosted by OurCommon.Market, a platform for commons-based clothing practices - we’ll hear a series of short provocations from experts on the fashion commons: anthropologist Sandra Niessen, designer Alice Holloway, fashion ecologist and textile systems designer Zoe Gilbertson and maker, activist and co-founder of Fantasy Fibre Mill, Nick Evans.

Questions they’ll address will include: How could small scale, bio-regional, fair and regenerative clothing production become the default? How can we make these alternatives sufficiently persuasive? How could a pluriverse of fashion cultures flourish? What challenges are keeping them in the margins? What rights of fashion commoners need to be protected, and how?

We’ll then break into small groups to discuss how we might begin to make these paradigm shifts. Collectively, we’ll then agree which ideas to take forward to an event later in the year which will focus on the Cultural Commons more generally, and which will result in a set of demands to be included in a new Charter of the Commons.

No previous knowledge is required – either of the Commons generally or fashion cultures specifically. All are welcome to contribute or just come to listen.

The evening will include a break for a one-pot vegan supper.

Kairos, 84 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TG

Doors open at 6.30pm for drinks. Events starts at 7pm.

£8 Kairos Club Member, £15 Non-member, £10 Struggling financially, £20 Supporter, £8 Under 25. Food complimentary.

Before requesting a discounted ticket, please consider sincerely: Are you struggling to meet your basic needs? Would you have to make a genuine sacrifice to buy a full priced ticket? Do you have reduced earnings through a lifestyle choice or rather because you're dedicating your time to unpaid work relating to the climate and nature crises or as a result of structural inequality?

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