Co-designing our future
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) was born from the understanding that members of the fashion and textiles industry need to come together to design the future we want for the industry, our planet, garment workers, and future generations.
Great ideas come from everywhere, and become greater when we connect through sharing experiences, challenging preconceptions, and taking risks together. Our first foray into collaboration was immediate, as UTS and TAFE NSW joined together to create the CoE and establish our vision. As reflected upon by Timo Rissanen and Laura Washington, bringing together two competing fashion design teaching institutions is essential to create the future we want and need.
Another essential element is collaboration with the industry. In early 2022, we started the process through meetings and interviews with professionals in the fields of fashion and textiles design, manufacturing, management, supply chain, and sustainability consulting. Following in-depth discussions with more than 60 people from over 35 companies, we started to get a picture of what the industry was looking for in terms of fashion sustainability education and research.
Once this initial research was completed, the CoE formed an Industry Advisory Group with members from businesses and peak industry bodies in the fashion and textiles industry in Australia. This group has provided their time and expertise to help the CoE think through more specifically what courses we offer, as well as the types of equipment and capabilities we require for advanced research and eventual prototyping of new garments and materials. This group has also engaged in in-depth conversations and workshops around supply chain transformations and the possibilities of digital design and sampling; thanks to their collective expertise and spirit of generosity, the CoE is developing a more complete vision of what we can offer to support the industry and businesses at various stages of sustainable transition.
In the next stage of our development, the CoE is seeking funds to acquire a range of equipment to create a microfactory in Ultimo, NSW. In particular, we will be sourcing spinning machines, weaving machines and seamless knit machines. We hope to demonstrate the possibilities of a hyper-localised supply chain, including great reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from transportation of materials, and advanced manufacturing capabilities that can enable the onshoring of some fashion production through highly-skilled, well-paid jobs, while creating fashion with very little textile waste. We are seeking research and funding partners as we enter this next phase of development – if our values align with those of your business, we’d love to hear from you.
And even if you’re not in the position to contribute financially, if you’d like to become more involved in the CoE, please get in touch, we’d love to connect and collaborate with you, too.