Political unrest, technological innovations, environmental challenges – these are some of the most pertinent drivers of our time that promise to change the future outcomes of the fashion industry. What prospects, then, can the next generation working in the industry expect? And how might they frame their own potential prospects? Does the future appear fascinating and promising, or does it rather seem scary and uncontrollable? Finally, how can the fashion industry prepare for different future scenarios? These are the overall questions that more than 100 students from a diverse range of educational backgrounds from all over the world will be asked to answer during this year’s Youth Fashion Summit (YFS) in Copenhagen, 13–15 May 2018. The questions have been framed according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 3: Good Health and Well-Being; and Goal 5: Gender Equality.
Once the students arrive in Copenhagen this May, they will become part of a three-day workshop with talks, teamwork, student presentations, and panel discussions with professionals from the fashion industry. Based on the workshop, the students will produce 8 demands, 8 fashion narratives and a 9 minute speech identifying how the fashion industry could and should prepare for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In the period prior to the workshop days, the students will prepare themselves on relevant topics for them to achieve a common understanding of the different topics they will work within and the framework they will be part of on 16 May when they will present their work on stage at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit (CFS). The students will prepare for this through 5 different webinars on the SDGs and on how companies work with the SDGs in practice. Apart from webinars, they will be offered podcasts and video lectures introducing them to the thematic framework of the Youth Fashion Summit inspired by the Five Capitals Model – a Framework for Sustainability developed by Jonathon Porritt.
