The idea behind the FABtalks is to host fresh fashion talks in an inspiring environment and connect them with business networking in an innovative new way. The aim is to trigger interesting discussions about the topic of fashion and let experts respond to open questions. Ultimately, we want to build an interdisciplinary network and establish and implement projects together in the long term.

On February 19th, the FABtalks left Germany for the very first time and were introduced in the UK. Together with curator Attollo Art, this edition's panel discussion took place in the inspiring setting of the Exhibitionist Hotel in London. Along with the event’s host, Vestalia Chilton, the discussion was led by three speakers who explored different aspects of sustainable fashion.

Summary of the Presentations:

1. ANDREA BURY, ABURY

After introducing the audience to the topic of sustainable fashion with a video of the ABURY Design Experience, Andrea Bury started the session. With a background in economics, Andrea had not had anything to do with fashion or craft; her interest in fashion was only sparked when she moved to Marrakech to renovate an old riad and came into contact with the local culture. She developed a fascination for traditional crafts, but soon realized that the people who work with these crafts cannot make a living due to increased competition and cheap imports from China. Andrea realized that crafts are dying out, and thus the idea of a sustainable business model evolved to help local people in the long term.

During the development process, Andrea identified three major problems: the quality of handmade products is extremely difficult to manage; the designs used by the artisans are very much influenced by their culture and religion and do not conform to the demands of the Western market; and the existing target audience – locals and tourists – is very limited and not willing to spend money on high-quality products.

The solution seemed obvious: the artisans would need a young, international designer to guide them. When pitching this idea at a design school in Berlin, Andrea realized that emerging designers also struggle to develop their first collection, and understood there was a WIN-WIN opportunity for both parties. The idea of the ABURY Design Experience was born, and since 2015, Andrea’s company ABURY has hosted an annual international designer competition where the winner receives a grant for production, travel, and living expenses for a 6-week project in a crafts community to develop a new collection for ABURY.

2. DARIA DERGUNOVA, U DIG PROJECT

Daria Dergunova is the founder of the U Dig Project and a newly transformed fashion warrior. Until recently, she had nothing to do with fashion, focusing solely on banking and finance. Her interest in fashion and crafts emerged while traveling (for work and privately) to places such as Uzbekistan and Cambodia. She became fascinated by textiles and developed a vision of incorporating ethnic and handmade aspects of fashion into business attire. With U DIG, Daria is pursuing three main goals:

First, the aim is to add uniqueness to the business dress code. So far, business attire has mainly been kept in black and gray and lacks originality, whereas handmade textiles can make fashion more unique and a real piece of art.

Furthermore, Daria pointed out the necessity of cherishing traditions and cultures. When she initiated a project with a crafts community in Ukraine and met the local people on-site, she was shocked by the touching stories of the Ukrainians who referred to their situation as artisans as a “war situation.” It is a shame their craft is not more visible in our markets. In fact, Daria sees huge potential in this: one of her events in London, where she showcased some of the handmade items, received great enthusiasm.

Daria’s final message was to underline the importance of a new definition of luxury. Luxury in fashion should be associated with products that are handmade and unique rather than their monetary value.

3. EMMA HART, PUSH PR

Emma Hart’s career began in journalism when she worked as a beauty and fashion writer for a print magazine. Based on her experience in that job and feedback from her art and design network, she quickly realized the lack of story- and craft-based businesses as well as the need for awareness regarding small fashion brands, and decided to move into PR.

In 2002, she founded PUSH PR, an agency working with sustainable brands. As a PR consultant, Emma has more of a bird’s-eye view of the industry, knowing what brands know and want, as well as what consumers know and want. The agency's vision is to listen to the consumer and find ways in which people and businesses can and should do good.

Motivated by the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, Emma is convinced that quality should not be compromised just to be sustainable or ethical, and the consumer’s journey should not be compromised either—they should all go hand in hand. The most important steps to make sustainable fashion grow further are education in schools as well as reconsidering the use of the term sustainability. The word has so many connotations and definitions that it has almost turned into a “bad word.” The communication strategy within the sustainable fashion industry should be rethought.

This edition of the FABtalks not only provided interesting insights from experts into the resurgence of crafts—it was also located in an extravagant atmosphere at the Exhibitionist Hotel, surrounded by the art of Charlotte Cory. Charlotte, a printmaker who creates artworks based on Victorian photography, also has a special connection to fashion. She values the idea of recycling and reusing in fashion, which is why she mainly owns second-hand clothing. She ended her talk by telling the audience about an incident where a large fashion company exploited her by using her intellectual property in their product design—fast fashion exploitation in a different way…

We thank our partner Attollo Art and the amazing Exhibitionist Hotel for the fantastic event!

SEE YOU NEXT TIME!