Sustainable Fashion Education: Future Design and Pedagogy

Abstract

Fashion is an ever-changing phenomenon and as the world progresses in the post Covid scenario, the materials that would be used for making products would be given a more ecofriendly approach. The production processes to be adopted should be able to reduce the amount of carbon footprint on the Earth’s surface. Sustainable concepts of Recycling, Reuse and Redesign needs to be given preference in ideation of product so that we are able to put a check on the fast-depleting resources of the Earth. Research on development of more ecofriendly, biodegradable material should be undertaken. Frugal Innovation is also an area to be considered while designing products.
 As design is pervading into more avenues of communication and commutation which are the key aspect of life, so there is a need to incorporate sustainable features in these avenues also. Fashion and Lifestyle would undergo a sea change in materials and technology being used to create them.
 Therefore, the looking at the environmental concerns and the need for innovation, design curriculum of the fashion institutes needs to be relooked at. These premier design institutes of the world should focus on inclusion of sustainable design concepts, materials and production processes in their curriculum so that the design fraternity is able to contribute positively to the environment. The future professional should have multi-dimensional knowledge of “Everything and Everywhere” to meet the design challenges of “Environment and Life on Earth”. To meet these challenges of future in Design and Fashion, some Professional, Technologists and Academicians associated with design and technology would be interviewed to understand the changes in design pedagogy and strategy which needs to be adopted and incorporated to meet the sustainable design challenges in Fashion education in future.