Governance for Tomorrow
Empowering the leaders of today to realise a fashion industry for tomorrow. A multi-phase programme investigating new and alternative models of governance in luxury fashion.
Governance for Tomorrow (GfT) is an innovative new programme created to address governance in the luxury fashion sector, one of the most powerful yet unexamined means for driving sustainable transformation in the fashion industry.
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The programme is managed by Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) and is supported by CSF’s long-term partnership with leading luxury group, Kering. This programme is designed to bring together bold leaders, transformational ideas and creative thinking to fundamentally shift and re-shape fashion’s governance systems for today and tomorrow.
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Across a three-year period, the programme will deliver new interdisciplinary knowledge, practical case studies and an education programme to empower industry leaders and professionals to work with new and alternative governance models that will embed humanity, nature and long-term thinking at the heart of decision making in and throughout fashion.
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The programme will harness the power of creativity as a force for positive change, with earth and equity at its core. Through speculative design and participatory methodology, the programme will research, apply, test, and realise new and alternative governance models based on Rockstrom et al.’s call for interspecies, intergenerational and intragenerational justice to be used as the basis for realising safe and just Earth system boundaries.
Reference:
Rockström, J., Gupta, J., Qin, D. et al. Safe and just Earth system boundaries. Nature 619, 102–111 (2023).
Programme Aims
The programme will deliver three key components:
Research - Realise new interdisciplinary knowledge created and published relating to interspecies, intergenerational and intragenerational luxury fashion governance.
Knowledge Exchange - Develop experimental non-executive governance boards and models for 3I justice, co-created for the luxury fashion sector.
Education - Deliver a first-of-its kind pioneering Fashion Governance education programme offering sector-specific skills, capabilities and interdisciplinary knowledge for fashion industry leaders and professionals of today and tomorrow.
Stewardship Board Call Out | Applications Now Closed
Governance for Tomorrow is calling on visionary changemakers to model a non-executive board. The Stewardship Board is designed to lead the creation of new and alternative governance models within luxury fashion. We seek a diverse mix of people, from different age groups, including students, early-career professionals, and seasoned professionals from around the world. You do not need to have experience in fashion, we invite applicants from all industries.
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As a Stewardship Board member, you will work collectively to rethink, develop, and test out innovative governance practices that can solve the industry's toughest problems. You’ll consider diverse perspectives from across and within generations and global regions. You'll collaborate with experts from different fields to find new ways of leading fashion towards sustainability and stewardship of our Earth.  You’ll model a non-executive board that embodies Earth Systems Justice, using governance as a key lever for change. ​
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Stewardship Board members will explore how fashion can operate within boundaries that are both safe for the planet and fair for all. ​
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The Stewardship Board applications are now closed. For further information about the Stewardship Board and the Governance for Tomorrow programme, please see the Stewardship Board Call Out Information.
“In the words of Amitav Ghosh, the climate crisis is…a crisis of culture, and thus of the imagination.
Through convening imaginative and curious minds, we will prototype frameworks and practices based on the true rules of prosperity, and thus shift from the rules we invented that missed out nature and the commitment to living better, as the basis of a thriving luxury fashion sector.” 
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– Professor Dilys Williams, Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion, UAL
“We are glad to celebrate our longstanding partnership with Centre for Sustainable Fashion through the launch of the ‘Governance for Tomorrow’ program. This innovative program marks a key milestone in our commitment to redefining governance practices in the luxury sector, placing sustainability, equity, and social justice at its heart. At Kering, we believe that integrating sustainability at the highest level of governance models is essential to addressing the environmental and social challenges facing the fashion industry, while ensuring a more responsible future for generations to come.”
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– Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer at Kering
Research
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Review governance through an interdisciplinary lens of 3I justice and identify new sources of knowledge and practice.
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Identify opportunities, enablers, gaps and barriers to implementing 3I governance.
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Engage experts across fashion, finance, insurance, legislation – including listed and non-listed companies.
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Publish findings in appropriate academic peer-reviewed publications and forums.
Board
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Interact with researchers and sector experts to design 3I alternatives to conventional governance boards.
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Prototype new and alternative governance boards as a collective; present speculative and viable prototypes to high profile sector audience.
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Create a governance think tank with visionary changemakers, to advise the luxury fashion sector on governance.
Socialise
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Develop industry-facing events to amplify 3I board models for use across industry.
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Develop a world-first online course on 3I fashion governance, creating access to the programme for global learners.
CSF Project Team
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Prof. Dilys Williams, Principal Investigator, Director, Centre for Sustainable Fashion and Professor of Fashion Design for Sustainability
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Monica Buchan-Ng, Head of Knowledge Exchange (Sustainability)
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Nina Stevenson, Head of Education (Sustainability)
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Dr. Seher Mirza, Post Doctoral Research Fellow
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Hannah Riley, Digital Content Officer
Project Partners
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Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer
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Pauline Pigott, Chief of Staff & Sustainability Project Manager
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Emmanuelle Picard-Deyme, Head of Sustainability Communications ​​
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Prof. Fergus Lyon, Director of Centre for Enterprise, Environment and Development Research (CEEDR) at Middlesex University
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Dr. Andrea Werner, Associate Professor of Business Ethics at Middlesex University
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Dr. Patrick Elf, Associate Professor in Sustainable Business at Middlesex University
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Floriane de Saint Pierre, Founder of Eyes on Talents
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Contact for the Project
Please email: sustainability@fashion.arts.ac.uk
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Get Involved
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