Versatile Academy #4: The Power of Storytelling

One of the bigger challenges in the fashion industry is post consumer waste. In Rotterdam only, 2 million kilos of textile waste are gathered every year by Opnieuw Goed, the company responsible for sorting the city’s textile containers. Currently, 9% of the waste from textile containers can be re-used locally. 29% is used for material recycling, but the majority of the textile is exported and frequently ends up on the African continent. The stories linked to these secondhand clothes, and the impact they have in the Global South, still remain largely intangible for its original owners in the Global North. 

Image courtesy: Priya Ahluwalia

Priya Ahluwalia on the importance of storytelling

On 7 October, Versatile Forever and Fashion in Flux invite Priya Ahluwalia, fashion designer, filmmaker and founder of multi-award winning fashion brand Ahluwalia, to speak about the power and importance of storytelling in fashion. Inspired by art, music and literature, much of the work created by Ahluwalia goes beyond her collections and includes collaborative campaigns, books and films. Through her namesake brand, Ahluwalia explores the life of vintage and dead-stock materials, and makes lasting impact with stories, inspired by her dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots and lifestyle.

Stories need to be told

Yophi Ignacia and Esther Muñoz Grootveld, co-founders of Fashion in Flux, will be moderating the evening. Preceding the interview with Priya Ahluwalia, they will have an inspiring conversation with Rotterdam-based brand agency The Young to share their vision on storytelling, specifically linked to responsible fashion.

Throughout the event, Patchwork Family, a young performative, upcycling fashion collective of Dutch makers, will activate the foyer area of New institute with a custom fashion performance.

Image courtesy: Priya Ahluwalia

About Versatile Academy

‘The Power of Storytelling’ is the last in a series of four public events of Versatile Academy, a program that aims to bridge the gap between small scale fashion labels and textile sorting and recycling companies. During six months, four fashion makers are challenged to dive into the sorting and recycling process, and rethink the ways we find, sort, value and reuse second hand textiles. Prior to Priya Ahluwalia, the Versatile Academy invited amongst others Sel Kofiga (Ghana), Brigitte Stepputtis (UK) and SUAY (US) to share their visions.

Versatile Academy is an initiative of Rotterdam-based fashion brand Versatile Forever and is organized in close collaboration with platform Fashion in Flux. The project is supported by sorting- and recycling company Opnieuw Goed, Creative Industry Fund NL and Gemeente Rotterdam. ‘Crafting Stories in Fashion’ is a pre-event for the Dutch Sustainable Fashion Week in Rotterdam.

Organized by:

Versatile Forever in collaboration with Fashion in Flux

https://www.versatileforever.com/

https://www.instagram.com/versatileforever/

https://www.instagram.com/fashioninflux_nl/

Supported by:

Opnieuw Goed, New Institute, Gemeente Rotterdam, Creative Industry Fund NL

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Nieuwe Instituut, 25 Museumpark, Rotterdam, Netherlands