Working towards Education for Sustainability at London College of Fashion (LCF), comes with many considerations – whether that be the current LCF student experience, how the industry is adapting, to the impact sustainability education can have on employability. Amongst the ongoing work as documented in our recently published Interim Report on Education for Sustainability Transformation we wanted to gain insight from current students and recent graduates from London College of Fashion (LCF) as to how parts of this work has impacted them, be that directly or in-directly.
José Teunissen, LCF’s Dean for School of Design Technology notes, how “the fashion system is rapidly evolving and the industry is fundamentally rethinking its values from design, to production, to consumers.” With intensions to meet industry demands and to be the driver of change – LCF is a considered choice for prospective students who are committed to exploring sustainability values through fashion. As another year of MA students graduate, we see a rise in students crafting their brand ethos’ with sustainability at heart – one of those students is Stephanie Moscall-Varey who recently graduated from MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear at LCF, showcasing her collection at the LCFMA20 show entitled ‘Moskal’.
“I chose LCF because it shared my values as a designer. I want to be part of a forward-thinking generation that considers sustainability but also is industry-focused.” – Stephanie Moscall-Varey
Within Stephanie’s collection many of the looks were made from a charcoal composite foam developed throughout her studies with a Danish artist. Which developed from an initial interest in forming her own conclusions on leather and its impact – deciding to explore practically via extra-curricular learning. Stephanie joined a crash course in the Netherlands, focussed on eco leather where she met Bonnie Hvillum of the Natural Material Studio who she later went on to collaborate with in the material development for her collection.
Following what she notes was a “difficult” year of MA Womenswear, with tutors that “highly motivated us all to make not only sustainable decisions but decisions about the future of fashion.” The experience allowed her to be questioning and curious, “I learned at LCF that sustainability applies to all aspects of design and I realized how easy it was to make sustainable decisions in production and output.” As students work on innovative new practices and developments, what’s next?
Well Stephanie has recently shown during London Fashion Week and plans to continue to develop the charcoal composite foam further “by testing the percentage of air filtration and developing waterproof coatings.” Whilst continuing to release capsule collections to showcase further development, Stephanie hopes to share the research and product development via a solo exhibition – alongside displaying at various expos.
Keen to hear more about Stephanie’s work and the charcoal composite foam?
It was recently featured by Sarah Mower in an article for 10 Magazine – ‘Sarah Mower plots the future of fashion with biodesign‘.