Results of Taskforce Fashion: Residency for Responsible Fashion

Team Maastricht

The results of ‘Taskforce Fashion 2020: Residency for Responsible fashion’ are here. Yet again, FASHIONCLASH, M-ODE and State of Fashion have joined forces to investigate the relevance and the transforming role of fashion concerning social-cultural issues. 

The Residency for Responsible Fashion was Taskforce Fashion's second experiment. 

Taskforce Fashion is all about research, experimentation and the transformative role of fashion. The 15 designers were stimulated to question the current reality and fashion system, to ultimately provide possible solutions for the future. Through field trips, desktop research and in-depth conversations with experts from the field, the teams investigated the social-cultural challenges of their cities. Corona challenged our designers to find new ways of presenting their design-through-research. Rather than merging the different team projects into one presentation, each team created their own local platform. This way, the projects could be presented in a meaningful place with a close relation to the research. From a train station to a primary school class: unconventional and creative solutions were thought of. 

The aftermovie bridges the physical distance and connects all projects.  

PRESENTATIONS Have a closer look at Taskforce Fashion: Residency for Responsible fashion and discover the diverse projects by the 3 teams. Through photos, videos and text the designers present their reflections on responsible fashion. 

Team Maastricht

TEAM MAASTRICHT
Team Maastricht hosted a day full of workshops with the children of the ‘Manjefiek Malberg school’. Through a series of fashion-related workshops the designers stimulated the kids to talk about their emotions in a fun and playful way. How do they dress up to represent the emotions of ‘amazement’, ‘anger’ or ‘happiness’? What memories do some of their t-shirts recall and how can we exchange them? These and many more questions formed the foundation of the workshops. In addition, the team wrote a manifest on the close relation between social and emotional development.  

TEAM TILBURG
Team Tilburg investigated how fashion can be a means of social intervention. By extending the concept of fashion beyond clothing alone, with an emphasis on personal style and identity, a community project was realised that has been created in collaboration with the people of the neighbourhood. The team hosted a photoshoot on the power of diversity; diversity in people and in fashion styles. With the help of a local team, Team Tilburg portrayed the striking and diverse youth of Tilburg Noord. The results, more than 25 portraits, were presented during the pop-up photo exhibition ‘De Stijl van Noord’ in NS16. The exhibition put these authentic youngsters from underrated Tilburg Noord in a positive light.

Team Tilburg

TEAM ROTTERDAM Rotterdam is incredibly rich in diversity and hosts more than 173 nationalities. Yet, there is a huge divide between inhabitants with different backgrounds, education and incomes. Team Rotterdam investigated a neighborhood where this divide is rapidly emerging, because of gentrification: the Oude Noorden. How can fashion play a positive role in enhancing contact and social cohesion in this area? Rather than focusing on overcoming the differences between inhabitants, the designers chose to focus their research on ways to find shared values and stories. Team Rotterdam proposed a set of tools that encourage new conversations with inhabitants of all ages and backgrounds. With fashion & identity as a base, the designers seeked for common ground and connections between longtime residents and newcomers.

Team Rotterdam

AND THERE'S MORE!
The outcomes of our second Taskforce Fashion experiment will be exhibited in the TextielMuseum from January 20 - March 27, 2022. The exhibition combines all results of the 3 teams and reflects on the theme of responsible fashion - in all its variety.

To be continued!

https://taskforcefashion.nl