Crafting The Future

Looking at new values for the future of fashion and design

A two-day program that brings together crafts brilliance and expertise together with innovation and new technologies applied to fashion and design, with particular attention paid to the issue of sustainability.

Photo: Fashion Revolution

Looking at new values for the future of fashion and design. Crafting the Future will showcase inspirational speakers, hear from panels of experts, instigate the right questions and advance potential solutions, as well as providing opportunities for everyone, from young professionals to absolute beginners, to explore making, mending and the craft of caring for our clothes.

The Onassis Foundation believes in the future, in science and in fashion, to the extent that it’s coupled with innovation and opens up new fields for exploration. Alice Potts, for example, an Onassis Fellow for 2018-2019, creates crystal accessories/artwork out of sweat which she collects from the clothes and accessories of athletes and dancers. The Onassis Foundation supports synergies as movements that strengthen artistic expression and release artists’ powers. It is interested in forming partnerships with organizations that trigger debates and share its concerns — organizations like the British Council.A key element of the Crafting the Future program, which is held on 1 and 2 February at the Upper Stage of Onassis Stegi, in collaboration with the British Council, is connecting cultures in order to facilitate knowledge sharing. By bringing together expertise from the UK and many other countries, the program aims to provide fertile ground for the exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of innovative and pioneering sustainable practices.

The first day is a conference one, bringing together celebrated lecturers and professionals of the local market. The public will have the opportunity to get an insight into modern-day challenges, the impact of fast fashion on everyday life and the solutions suggested by the industry professionals. Key speakers include Orsola de Castro (Founder & Creative Director of Fashion Revolution), Brigitte Stepputtis (Head of Couture at Vivienne Westwood), Stavros Karelis (Onassis Foundation Creative Consultant, Founder & Buying Director MACHINE-A), Alice Potts (Onassis Fellow), Dimitra Kolotoura (Founder Zeus+Dione).

The second day focuses on the practical training of the participants, presenting a series of workshops dealing with issues of chain supply ethics, upcycling and circular fashion economy.
With a focus on crafts as a vehicle to innovate, the two-day program ends with a DiscoMAKE party. Everyone will have the opportunity to bring clothes they don't use any more and with the help of young designers recrafting them, extending their life, contributing thus to sustainability.
Let’s explore sustainability in fashion, innovation and sustainable materials under a critical thinking lens, the role of technology for a transparent supply chain, design solutions to environmental challenges and in particular, the role of crafts within this complex panorama.

Curated by:
Afroditi Panagiotakou, Director of Culture, Onassis Foundation
Μaria Papaioannou, Arts Manager, British Council Greece
Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital Policy & Development, Onassis Foundation
Orsola de Castro, Founder & Creative Director of Fashion Revolution

Crafting the future | Conference agenda
Friday 01.02 | 10:00-21:00
Onassis Stegi | Upper Stage

Professionals of the worldwide fashion and design industry give talks, discuss and participate in a two-day program regarding innovation, renewability, creativity, sustainability and modern challenges of the fashion industry.

Free entrance.
Reservation is required at Eventbrite.

09:30-10:30 | Registrations
10:30-11:00 | Thank you Notes
11:00-11:15 | Opening Remarks | Orsola de Castro, Founder & Creative Director of Fashion Revolution
11:15-11:45 | The Power of the Consumer | Marina Spadafora, Fashion Designer
11:45-12:15 | Policy & Transparency in Fashion | Tamsin Lejeune, CEO at Common Objective
12:15-12:45 | CONSEQUENCES / Vivienne Westwood and Sustainability in 2018 | Brigitte Stepputtis, Head of Couture at Vivienne Westwood
12:45-13:00 | Short Coffee Break
13:00-13:30 Shirt Stories: Fast and Slow Materials, Models and Mindsets | Rebecca Earley, Design Researcher at University of the Arts London
13:30-14:00 | Stavros Karelis, Onassis Creative Consultant, Founder & Buying Director Machine-A
14:15-15:00 | Networking Lunch
15:00-15:30 | Personalized Couture & Basic Principles of Sustainability | Christos Petridis, Chief Creative Officer at Maison Faliakos, Venediktos Adipas, Creative Director at Maison Faliakos
15:30-16:45 | Lightning Talks

Dimitra Kolotoura, Founder Zeus + Dione

Needle and Thread | Angeliki Giannakidou, Director of Ethnological Museum of Thrace

Slow Fashion - Big Impact | Garyfalia Pitsaki, Co-Founder of 3QUARTERS

Born to Die: Planned Obsolescence of Function and Desirability | Christopher Brellis, Designer

Shedia Art: Restarting life | Chris Alefantis, Editor in Chief of Shedia street paper

Weaving a Social Tapestry | George Kalivis, Project Director at Victoria Square Project - Maria Juliana Byck, Artist and reFashion Designer
16:45-17:15 | Q&A
17:15-17:45 | Panel Discussion | Moderated by Tamsin Blanchard, Fashion Journalist and Editor

& Efie Falida, Journalist

Orsola de Castro, Founder & Creative Director of Fashion Revolution

Kendall Robins, Senior Program Manager Architecture, Design, Fashion, British Council UK

Dimitra Kolotoura, Founder of Zeus + Dione

Alice Potts, Onassis Fellow
Film Screening

18:30-20:00 | Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist
Admission is free, on a first come first served basis. Entrance tickets will be available 1 hour before the screening.

Welcome by Nicole Alexandropoulos, Director of Athens Fashion Film Festival

Saturday 2 February

Crafting the Future | Workshops

Saturday 02.02 | 12:30-21:00
Onassis Stegi | Multiple Stages

From the morality of clothing production and trade to the creation of “slow” and “quick” clothes, as from fashion activism to the sustainability of a wardrobe. Five workshops that question and inspire actions bring Onassis Stegi closer to the future of fashion.

Free admission. Submission of applications at Eventbrite.

Applications for workshops will be reviewed and participants will be selected based on the relevance of their responses to the respective subject. Successful applicants will be notified by January 28.

Fashion and Quality

Marina Spadafora, Fashion Designer

12:30-14:30 | Foyer +5

The workshop focuses on the importance of creating garments that have a high quality while being produced ethically. Marina Spadafora’s long experience working with World Fair Trade Organization members around the world has shown that there is a pressing need for capacity building within the fair trade producers. She will share a technical handbook with the participants to explain in detail the different aspects of what the quality standard for western fashion houses is like.

This workshop addresses artisans, producers, activists as well as students.

Participants are expected to participate and contribute to the discussion based on their knowledge and experience.

Circular Design Speeds: creative and strategic approaches for fast and slow circular fashion and textile design

Rebecca Early, Professor of Sustainable Fashion Textile Design

12:30-14:30 | Foyer +3

This workshop enables participants to understand more about what decisions need to be made when we design a fashion and textile product for the circular economy. What do we think constitutes a fast fashion item, and what is slow? How can we design products that travel quickly through our wardrobes (meeting specific needs) and how can we design products that stay with us for a long time (often meeting quite different needs)? How do we think needs might change in the future, from country to country? How can we anticipate this by designing for the speeds of these emerging circular economies?

The workshop begins with taking a quick look at our own habits and behaviors. What is in our wardrobe that is fast? What is slow? How do they differ and can we see any common use patterns? Working around a lifecycle diagram on challenges to make garments "slow", and then "fast", what do we notice?

The workshop is ideal for designers, material scientists and engineers, fashion marketing professionals and user behavior experts.

Please bring along shirts or tops which you consider to be either fast or slow fashion products and be prepared to explain why! For inspiration see Becky’s website for links to her writing, podcasts and films. www.beckyearley.com

How to be a Fashion Revolutionary

Orsola de Castro, Co-founder and Creative Director at Fashion Revolution

15:00-17:30 | Foyer +5

12:30-14:30 | Foyer +4get inspired for action. You will learn how to use your creativity to make fashion better. Whether you are an aspiring designer, a communicator, an- educator or just a normcore citizen interested in clothes, at this workshop you will be stimulated to imagine a different fashion industry and become a part of the solution.

Orsola de Castro will be also introducing Fashion Revolution Greece’s Country Coordinator, Fiori Zafeiropoulou, who will give an overview of the local initiatives and how to be involved in fashion activism.
The workshop mainly addresses students and communication professionals but is also ideal for anyone interested in taking action towards a more ethical and sustainable fashion.

Participants are expected to participate and contribute to the discussion based on their knowledge and experience.

Fashion Journalism Masterclass

Tamsin Blanchard, Fashion Journalist & Editor

12:30–14:30 | Foyer +4

Tamsin Blanchard is a journalist with over 25 years of experience, working for UK newspapers and magazines, strongly involved with Fashion Revolution and teaching for the BA Fashion Journalism at Central Saint Martins. At this masterclass, she will be sharing her rich personal journey in the world of fashion and mark the shifts of the industry through time. She will emphasize on how to navigate relationships between brands, journalists and retailers, as well as the importance of authenticity for a good story.

This masterclass addresses journalists, communication professionals, fashion marketing professionals, as well as students and designers.

Participants are expected to participate and contribute to the discussion based on their knowledge and experience.

DiscoMAKE Party

Curated by Matthew Needham

18:00-21:00 | Foyer +2
DiscoMAKE is a party for people who love fashion, styling and are makers at heart. How do you purchase, use and dispose your clothes?

We invite you to come along and:

Bring an old garment you are not using anymore or pick one up from our denim & t-shirt tables.
Choose pins, threads, patches or other available materials.

Go to the maker corner and with help from designers, remake your item into a new favorite.
Style your new creation and give us your best snapshot, wearing your old-new clothes.
Join and explore the art of making, altering, repairing and caring for our clothes.
The DiscoMAKE Party is family-friendly.