Join us as we discuss what went down at Fashion Week. Did brands rise to the industry's call for change?

Looking for that pre-pandemic connection and inspiration? LDC and The Fashion Debates have come together to bring you the two best things: fashion and deep conversation. By signing up we'll send you the Zoom link and more information on the runnings of the event. 

Since the CFDA + BFC called brands to 'rethink' and actively move towards a more sustainable fashion calendar we've witnessed 3 key Fashion Weeks - Men's, Haute Couture and now the largest of all, September Fashion Month. But what really happened? Did brands sit up and listen or did they rush back to the way things were pre pandemic?

This online event will start with opening statements from our key speakers. We will then breakout into smaller focus groups, giving you the chance to discuss with your expert and likeminded individuals. The groups will rotate once again, before we all come back together to share our thoughts in one larger reflection. Following on from this, there will be the further opportunity to stay online and ask more direct Q&As to the wider group.

Hear what others have to say and share your two cents on what you noticed about Fashion Week, the pandemic and this industry's effect on the current climate crisis.

Meet the Host: Olivia Pinnock

Olivia is a fashion journalist, lecturer and founder of The Fashion Debates. She has covered sustainability and the wider fashion industry for titles including Forbes and Drapers and through The Fashion Debates has hosted discussions on some of the most pressing issues it faces today. Her teaching work covers fashion journalism, communications, branding and history at London College of Fashion and London Metropolitan University.

Meet the speakers

Jonathan Chippindale

Co-founder and Chief Executive of Holition, Jonathan Chippindale​ formed the venture start-up over a decade ago to explore the role technology and innovation play to the modern, digital-focused consumer. Over the last ten years, the creative innovation studio has evolved into a synthesis of retail scientists, film-makers, artists, mathematicians, UX designers and other curious minds, united by digital empathy towards consumer experience.

The part think tank, part digital studio crafts bespoke experiences for industry leaders across the luxury, fashion, beauty, and art sectors who look to Holition to introduce a new dialogue with their consumers. The growing network of pioneering brands include Hermes, LVMH, Cartier, L’Oreal Group, Estee Lauder Group, and COTY.

Anna Dominic

Anna is the creative mastermind behind the incredible brand that is Ganor Dominic. She received her BA in Footwear Design at the prestigious London College of Fashion. She was also recipient of the National Footwear Design Student of the Year Award, presented to her by iconic footwear giant Jimmy Choo.

Anna’s obsession with the concept of “Shoes as a form of Art” guides Ganor Dominic’s collections from Ancient Greek references to Pop Surrealist ones, always interpreting the brand’s design vocabulary of facial features and bold silhouettes in new and exciting ways.

Elle L

Elle L is a music artist, environmentalist and expert advisor to the United Nations, “UN” in Sustainable Fashion and Media. Through her art, music and special collaborative projects, she finds inspiration to awaken and connect herself and others to the natural world.

As a passionate advocate for the environment, alongside her music, Elle has journeyed to the heart of Kenya and the Peruvian Rainforests of the Amazon over the past eighteen months to curate and speak for the UN and support conservation efforts on the ground.

She uses her growing profile to raise vital awareness for conservation and those without a voice and believes in achieving true equality in age, gender, race and sexuality. Through special projects, she has supported fundraising over £1.5 million to international grassroots efforts.

Tickets £15 available to purchase here

About our event partner Lone Design Club:

LDC unites independent designers in hosting experience led concept stores, and creates a resource sharing community. By connecting brands to their direct audiences, it not only empowers the designers but also the consumer to shop transparent and unique.

Sustainability can often feel like a passing trend in the industry. It can also be incredibly frustrating when you enter an industry full of passion and energy to disrupt it, only to find you feel like you have to compromise your morals to pay the bills.

This panel discussion will be compiled of several professionals from different jobs in the fashion industry who specialise in sustainability and feel it has moved their career in a positive direction. It will explore the challenges of working in sustainable fashion, how to become an expert in your area of passion, spotting the gaps in the sustainable fashion job market to stand out in, and how to launch your own sustainable fashion business.

Panel:

Rachel Kan - fashion designer

Emma Slade Edmondson - retail consultant

Hosted by Olivia PInnock - fashion journalist and founder of The Fashion Debates

This event is part of UAL Creative Futures

Creative Futures is an inspiring week of industry led talks, empowering workshops, job opportunities and one-to-one advice to kick-start your future in the creative industries.

Open to University of the Arts London (UAL) students and graduates, events take place across UAL Colleges.

The Fashion Debates will be popping up at the UK’s leading fashion trade event Pure London this season. Join a panel hosted by our founder Olivia Pinnock exploring identity in fashion. Hear from key influencers driving the change within the industry, opening the conversation on inclusivity and authentic representation of the individual.

Register to attend for free here.

The Fashion Debates tackles mental health in their next panel talk to be held at social enterprise The Trampery Republic. The evening is hosted by photographer JC Candanedo as part of the Creative Pioneers Programme at The Trampery and will explore the complex relationship between creativity and mental health.

Does the way the industry operates lead to mental health problems in its workers, or are creative people more pre-disposed to mental health problems? How can we look after ourselves and our colleagues better to ensure a healthier relationship with our work?

We’ll be discussing these issues and more with our expert panel followed by a chance to network with fellow professionals passionate about this topic. We look forward to welcoming you!

The evening:
7pm Complimentary welcome drinks
7:30pm Panel debate
8pm: Questions from the audience
8:30pm Networking

The panel:
Charli Cohen - Founder of Charli Cohen techwear and mental health awareness initiative Shades of Blue

Dr Jonathan Gander - Associate Professor for Creative Industries, Kingston University, and Chair of The Haven + London, the only UK charity solely dedicated to supporting the emotional, spiritual and mental wellbeing of the creative community

More TBC

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/does-the-fashion-industry-have-a-mental-health-problem-tickets-60622965923?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

About JC Candanedo and The Trampery’s Creative Pioneers Programme

JC Candanedo is a London-based photographer. He works commercially in fashion and portraiture with clients that include designers, production companies and beauty brands. In his personal work, he deals with the social issues that matter the most to him like human rights and national identity. He also writes a blog about his experiences working in the creative industries where he talks about the fashion industry and the business of photography through interviews to other creatives, features on fellow photographers and opinion pieces on social issues.

Creative Pioneers is a programme run by The Trampery to support early-stage, emerging creative businesses and startups. It addresses the rising cost of workspace in London by offering selected participants free deskspace and membership to The Trampery Republic for 6 months, including access to a curated programme of member events that provides both business and wellbeing support.

*Special Event With Londnr Magazine and The Goldsmiths’ Centre*

What is the future of diamonds? This question will be the focus of a leading panel of jewellery and sustainability experts from British Vogue, Lark & Berry and The Fashion Debates during this special evening talk.

The rise in the manufacture of lab grown diamonds and ever evolving techniques for their creation is beginning to impact the traditional diamond sector. Moderated by Nina Sophia-Miralles, Editor of Londnr Magazine at the Goldsmiths’ Centre, a panel of leading experts 

Philippa Durell, former jewellery editor of Tatler and contributing editor of Vogue and GQ
Olivia Pinnock, Fashion Journalist and Founder of The Fashion Debates
Laura Chavez, Founder & Managing Director of Lark & Berry
Katie Rowland, Creative Director of Lark & Berry
Karen Smit, Gemological Institute of America

will discuss the current state of the diamond industry and the differences between mined and lab grown diamonds. They will explore how our cultural opinion of diamonds is shifting as a result of these changes and what needs to be done to ensure a sustainable future for the industry.

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The call to reduce our plastic usage has been loud and urgent. While fashion has been called out for its excessive use of synthetic fabrics which are putting microplastics in our water supply, recycled plastic is also becoming one of the coolest new materials around being used in everything from trainers, to swimwear, to suits.

The Fashion Debates returns for another evening at The House of St Barnabas members’ club for a discussion on what fashion can do to join the fight against the war on plastic led by an expert panel.

What are the main causes of plastic pollution from the fashion industry and how do we reduce it? How much plastic could fashion save from going to waste? Can fashion make plastic-free consumer solutions stylish? We’ll be covering these vital questions, plus come with your own questions to put to the panel.

The evening:
7pm Welcome drinks
7:30pm Panel debate
8pm: Questions from the audience
8:30pm Networking

The panel:
Charney Magri – Filmmaker and Founder of Fashion 4 Change

Amanda Johnson – Curator and Educational Consultant – The Sustainable Angle

Emma Priestland - Plastic Pollution Campaigner, Friends of the Earth 

About The House of St Barnabas:
The House of St Barnabas is a charity pledging to break the cycle of homelessness and social exclusion in London. They run a social enterprise, a not-for-profit members’ club, to help the people they support back into lasting paid work. Their Employment Academy offers accredited qualifications, on-site work experience, real job opportunities and mentoring. The House of St Barnabas are seeking to redefine the notion of a members’ club, to challenge stereotypes around the idea of exclusivity and to create a different kind of membership. The club is a creative, socially conscious and vibrant space.

BUY TICKETS HERE

The Fashion Debates explores the industry’s relationship with animal welfare and the rising trend of leather alternatives in another inspiring evening. With a number of high-profile retailers joining the fur-free movement, and a 350% rise in the number of people adopting vegan diets in the UK over the past ten years, do other fashion brands needs to follow suit?

Will we see the sale of fur and exotic skins outlawed in the UK? Will leather be viewed with the same distain as fur in the future? How did cat fur end up in a number of high street faux fur products and what can we do to prevent it happening again? What are the challenges of using leather alternatives? These vital questions will be covered, plus come with your own questions to put to our panel.

The evening:
7pm Welcome drinks
7:30pm Panel debate
8pm: Questions from the audience
8:30pm Networking

The panel:
Yvonne Taylor - Senior Manager of Corporate Projects, PETA
Malcolm Proot - Director, Walter Reginald leather suppliers
Alicia Lai - Founder and Director, Bourgeois Boheme vegan shoes

Buy tickets here.

Calling all sustainable fashion entrepreneurs! We’ve teamed up with The Fashion Debates for their first anniversary to host a unique evening of business advice and speed-networking.

Join us to hear invaluable tips from all aspects of sustainable fashion - this event will explore the challenges we face in our field and provide vital information and inspiration to improve the work we do. From managing your supply chain to working on your brand identity, this is an opportunity to come together, learn from a fantastic line-up of guest speakers, and make exciting new connections.

Schedule:

6pm - Doors open, drinks

6:30pm - Talks from sustainable fashion experts including the founder of Monkee Genes Philip Wildbore, fashion journalist Bel Jacobs and swimwear designer Diana Auria.

7:30pm - Drinks

7:40pm - Speed networking

8:30pm - Close

Ticket details are as follows:

Adults £10 - includes admission, free drinks & a £10 off voucher for Beyond Retro

Students £5 - includes admission, free drinks & a £5 off voucher for Beyond Retro

Buy here.

More information about some of our guests:

Philip Wildbore, Founder of Monkee Genes

Phil Wildbore founded Monkee Genes in 2006 as an answer to the fast fashion denim market. Creating on trend denim with ethical conscience, Monkee Genes has been working for over a decade on raising pubic consciousness around ethical fashion. Now Phil has set up the charity Stop Taking The P, dedicated to promoting awareness of ethical production and supply chains, whilst supporting children's education in Bangladesh.

Bel Jacobs, Fashion Journalist

Bel Jacobs is a fashion & arts journalist. She was Style Editor for Metro between 1999 and 2013, during which time she helped build the paper’s fashion content, interviewing key figures such as Karl Lagerfeld, Rita Ora, Christian Louboutin, Vivienne Westwood, Philip Treacy, Isabella Blow and Valentino Garavani. A long time champion of sustainable fashion and independent labels, Bel was one of the first UK Fashion Editors to showcase conscious brands and commission sustainable fashion editorials for a daily newspaper.

Diana Auria, Swimwear Designer, Creative & Managing Director of AURIA

Diana founded AURIA in 2013, a unique swimwear line that uses innovative recycling techniques to utilise discarded fishing nets and other waste to create on-trend pieces. Diana studied at Central St Martins and went on to specialise in lingerie and swim design at the London College of Fashion. Her craft and care is balanced with conscious innovation and playful style to flatter the modern woman. Diana is a proud ambassador of sustainability within the fashion industry and has spoken on the subject at various talks including one at The Royal Society of Arts. She has also worked on special sustainable projects with Selfridges and Sony.

In a Fashion Revolution Week special, The Fashion Debates launches another engaging discussion in partnership with social enterprise Free_D.

Looking at the parallels between the ethical fashion movement and feminism, we’ll explore whether they champion each other’s causes or go against them, whether they can join forces to be more powerful and whether fairly made fashion needs to brand itself as feminist. 

The evening:
7pm Welcome drinks
7:30pm Panel debate
8pm: Questions from the audience
8:30pm Networking

The panel:
Tansy Hoskins - Journalist & Author
Sophie Slater - Co-Founder Birdsong London
Ayesha Mustafa - Founder Fashion ComPassion

About Free_D: 
Free_D is a social enterprise with a mission to support and up-skill disadvantaged women in India. We develop an under-utilised workforce into artisan jewellery makers using a mix of 3D printing and traditional techniques. We collaborate with designers and retailers who care about an ethical supply chain.

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Today’s fashion graduates, across multiple disciplines from design to styling, PR, photography and journalism, are asked to undertake full time, unpaid internships for up to a year in order to earn their place in the industry.

Even for those with years of experience, offers of unpaid work are common, leaving talented people without the means to support themselves.

The Fashion Debates brings together another crucial discussion asking questions on this little-talked-about, but endemic, problem and the impact its impact on the industry as a whole: Is there really no money in fashion, or are people just used to free labour? What are your legal rights to getting paid as an intern? How can we bring more people from less privileged backgrounds into the industry if they can’t earn a living wage?

The evening:
7pm Welcome drinks
7:30pm Panel debate
8pm: Questions from the audience
8:30pm Networking

The panel:
Matthew Dowling, CEO The Freelancer Club
Khandiz Joni, Make-Up Artist and Co-Founder Novel Beings Creative Agency
Mark Watson, Partner Fox Williams LLP Solicitors

Buy tickets here.

Can making upcycling, second-hand and organic fashionable change the fact that the fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world?

Are eco collections and recycling at odds with fashion business models or can fashion save the planet?

The Fashion Debates tackles the environmental impact of the industry in their next panel talk with a chance to ask your questions to the experts and discover how we can all make a difference.

The evening:
7pm Welcome drinks sponsored by Sustainable Wines.
7:30pm Panel debate
8pm Questions from the audience
8:30pm Networking

Panel speakers will be announced soon. Follow us on Facebook for updates. 

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It’s long been noted that the fashion industry’s desire for thin models can cause them to go dangerously underweight, or at worst, develop eating disorders. Is it time for the government to intervene?

Following legislation being passed in California and France to protect models, a petition was launched last year by model Rosie Nelson to call on the UK to do the same. To date it has received almost 125,000 signatures.  

Would a law really protect the well-being of models? Would it put UK models at a competitive disadvantage to their international peers? What impact is the fashion industry’s obsession with a below average dress size having on women and would this law benefit them as well?

The Fashion Debates will be exploring this during our London Fashion Week special as we pop up at VIP hangout space The Grooming Room.

The evening:

4:30pm Arrival drinks
5pm Panel discussion
5:30pm Questions from the audience
6pm Cocktail hour at The Grooming Room and networking   

The Panel:
Rosie Nelson - model and campaigner.
Candice Holdsworth - journalist.
Further speakers to be announced.

More about The Grooming Room:

The Grooming Room: Women’s Edit takes place over London Fashion Week (LFW) and is curated as an environment for press, VIPs, celebrities and fashion influencers to relax between shows and meetings, to be pampered and to interact with fashion and grooming brands. Set in the intimate, yet expansive Century Club, the space is just around the corner from the main catwalk shows in Soho and is the second most visited event at LFW.

Please note: Space is more limited than our usual events so book early to avoid disappointment.

Spring/summer 16: only 22.4% of non-white catwalk models used and cultural appropriation allegations at Valentino and Junya Watanabe. Is the fashion industry racist?

An industry that has done so much for gay rights and embraced non-binary gender is lagging severely in its responsibility to include people of colour. With the catwalk now an open stage to the whole world, designers can no longer hide behind the closed doors of the industry, will this put pressure on them to do better?    

Join The Fashion Debates for an evening exploring the opinions and experiences of those working in the fashion industry and what we can all do about it.

Panel:
Naomi Mdudu - former Fashion Editor of The Metro and Editor of The Lifestyle Edit

Jody Furlong - Founder of The Eye Casting and Trustee for All Walks Beyond the Catwalk.

Anna-Mari Almila - Research Fellow in Sociology of Fashion, London College of Fashion.

The evening:

7pm Arrival drinks

7:30pm Panel discussion

8pm Questions and comments from the audience

8:30pm Networking

9pm Close

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.  

The venue is wheelchair accessible. 

Venue: Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design, 16-17 Greek Street, London, W1D 4DR.

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It seems outrageous that in 2016, sweatshop labour is still a major concern for fashion shoppers. With little transparency about major retailers’ supply chains, it can be difficult to make ethical choices when buying clothes, and for brands outsourcing their production, how can they make sure the workers are safe?

The first ever edition of The Fashion Debates will explore this issue in a panel discussion with Carry Somers, founder of Fashion Revolution, Clare Lissaman, Director of Ethical Fashion Forum and My Source, and Stella Heng, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Sports Philosophy.

How can we lobby retailers to ask them to do more? How can I ensure my business is running ethically? How can we educate ourselves on the true cost of our clothing? The Fashion Debates is more than a discussion, it is an opportunity to come together and do something about it.

The evening:

7pm Arrival drink

7:30pm Panel discussion

8pm Questions and comments from the audience

8:30pm Networking

9pm Close

Book your ticket here.