At the beginning of 2024, South West England Fibreshed (SWEF) joined forces with a variety of contributors for the new Future Fashion Landscapes project. Working in partnership with Professor Sandy Black, Deborah Barker of South East England Fibreshed and research associate Mila Burcikova of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, SWEF will explore the value of bioregional fibre production and its relationship with biodiversity.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council under the umbrella of The Design Museum’s Future Observatory, this R&D partnership aligns with the Fibreshed mission and seeks to demonstrate how collaborations between farmers, designers and processors of native and rare breed wool can have an impact on biodiversity levels. The project will aim to revalue UK wool and help create short, local, direct and transparent supply networks that can be replicated across the country.
The project provides a setting for application of the recently launched Farming Fashion guide, produced in partnership between South East and South West England Fibresheds. Launched in January 2024, the guide bridges the gaps between farmers, designers and producers – helping to illustrate the process of creating fashion at each stage and fostering a greater understanding between each stakeholder. The Future Fashion Landscapes project will expand upon the Farming Fashion guide to help address barriers to developing stronger links between farmers and designers, including lack of links, common language and mutual understanding of the work and requirements of each.
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