Fabricating the Future of Fashion: Panel Discussion and Fashion Show

Join us for Fabricating the Future of Fashion!

Please note that this program is in two parts: 1) Panel Discussion and Audience Q&A and 2) Fabricating the Future of Fashion: Sustainable Designer Showcase and Fashion Show [#teencentral].

Registration his highly encouraged on this Eventbrite page. Panel and Q&A attendance is not required to see the Designer Showcase, and attendance at the Designer Showcase is not required to attend the Panel and Q&A. Registration is highly encouraged.

The fashion industry is the second largest polluter to our environment behind oil and gas. Fabricating the Future of Fashion aims to educate the public about fast fashion while also celebrating local designers using sustainable practices in their work. Through this event, we will take a deep dive into what sustainable fashion looks like and how to move forward to better protect the environment. Featuring both experts in the industry and designers, we hope this event builds community and inspires people to take action against fast fashion!

Part 1: Panel Discussion and Audience Q&A

Thursday, October 5, 2023 | 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM | Rabb Lecture Hall

While "fast fashion" is a familiar term, its underlying problems often remain misunderstood. This engaging discussion will shed light on the multifaceted challenges, from social and environmental injustices to practical strategies for individuals seeking to make a difference in their daily lives. Delving deeper into the subject, our panelists will explore the concept of greenwashing and its implications, as well as the profound impact of various materials used in our clothing on our planet. Don't miss this opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of fast fashion's issues and how we can address them. Join us in partnership with Boston Fashion Week and Revolution Fashion for an insightful panel discussion on the complex issue of fast fashion. Come curious and with questions!

The panel discussion will be held in the first 45 minutes; it will feature both the professors and sustainable designers. The 45 minute session is immediately followed by a 15 minute Q&A session.

Panel discussion participants

Dr. Catherine Weiss: Professor Fashion Merchandising and Management; Media and Marketing, Lasell School of Fashion

Catharine, with 15+ years in fashion at companies like Liz Claiborne and Gucci, transitioned from modeling to teaching. She holds a Ph.D. in Consumer Neuroscience Ethics. In academia, she co-authored publications and presented on Consumer Neuroscience in Fashion. As a faculty advisor, she connects students with industry through NRFSA and the Fashion Connection Club. Catharine also integrates tech into fashion curricula and creates real-world case studies with Lasell's Innovation Institute, emphasizing practical, hands-on learning.

Madhavi Venkatesan PhD: Department of Economics, Northeastern University

Madhavi Venkatesan, Ph.D., holds economics degrees from Vanderbilt University and has authored four textbooks, including "SDG8 – Sustainable Economic Growth and Decent Work for All." She leads Sustainable Practices, a nonprofit in Barnstable County, MA, and successfully campaigned to ban plastic bottles in the region. Madhavi is dedicated to integrating sustainability into economics education and has experience in investor relations with leading U.S. insurers.

Queen Allotey-Pappoe: founder of sustainable fashion brand Queen Adeline

Queen Allotey-Pappoe, was raised in Ghana and was always entranced by the scenes of hard-working women at the market in beautiful textile clothing in vibrant hues. As Queen ventured into the world of fashion and was shocked at the practices of fast fashion, the inspiration of these market scenes stayed with her. She decided to make wearable art, crafted with care, versatile enough for this hard-working woman who was juggling roles to confidently express herself, whilst minimizing her carbon impact on her world. Queen studied at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MASSART) worked for years in the Entrepreneurship and sustainability industry until she finally brought her vision of Queen Adeline to life. Queen Adeline is a sustainable fashion brand dedicated to creating one-of-a-kind styles for women on the go. Each piece is inspired by the vibrant culture of Africa and is made using holistic and sustainable processes.

Panel discussion moderator

Taneshia Camillo-Sheffey

Taneshia, a fearless leader, founded The Haute House and MadeIncubator in Boston, MA. She accelerates entrepreneurial growth in fashion and business. The Haute House develops fashion businesses and teaches aspiring designers through The Haute House University. MadeIncubator revolutionizes designer success and economic development. Taneshia's mission is to create a sustainable fashion industry through business education.

Part 2: Fabricating the Future of Fashion: Sustainable Designer Showcase and Fashion Show [#teencentral]

Thursday, October 5, 2023 | 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM | Teen Central

Are you interested in learning more about sustainable and experimental design practices in fashion? Come celebrate local artists and designers in the Boston area to see and learn about their inspiration, practices, and designs. Varying from student and e-textile designers to fiber sculptors, this showcase will open you to all the ways that sustainability can take form in fashion.

Designers

Rebecca McGee Tuck

Rebecca McGee Tuck is a fiber artist, a sculptor and an ocean activist. Her work is a visual narrative of what she accumulates from a throw away society and as a result she gives new life to what othersdiscard. Tuck has shown her work in multiple juried shows throughout the Northeast including the Fitchburg Art Museum, Viridian Arts in the Chelsea, NYC, the PEG Center for Art and Activism in Newburyport MA, and the George Marshall Store Gallery in York, Maine. Most recently Tuck has just returned from the Cuttyhunk Island Residency. Her series of work called “Along the Wrack Line” deals with the overwhelming amount of debris and plastic trash that contaminate our local New England beaches. Tuck works among her menagerie of debris from her studio at the Mill Contemporary Art Studios in Framingham.

H.E.R Fashion

HER helps people through her designs. HER empowers, educates, and aids the wearer into feeling comfortable and confident. Every outfit, every garment, and every accessory tells its own personal story. HER creates an atmosphere for deep conversations about social, racial, ethical, gender, moral injustices and makes a stand. HER strives for absolute acceptance of oneself and of others. HER adheres to absolute sustainability to protect our sacred earth. HER symbolizes complete moral representation of oneself and the preservation of this earth. My name is Hannah Elyzabeth Richards and welcome to H.E.R. Fashion.

Bolor Amgalan

Bolor Amgalan is an experimental anti-disciplinary designer investigating the role of e-textiles, virtual reality and other disruptive emerging technologies as catalysts for social change. She started out as a zero-waste fashion designer and later developed her practice further at Central Saint Martins using speculative design narratives, and yet further at Parsons School of Design using computation. Bolor's work has been exhibited in museums and shows internationally including the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the Museum of Science in Boston, Milan Design Week and Dutch Design Week. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, most recently the AAUW International Fellowship and VFILES Lab Grant.

Carly Denneen

Student designer

Creator of “Scrap Yard” Carley Denneen is a 23 year old fiber artist currently based in Boston. Inspired by the rediscovered embroidery work of her grandmothers during quarantine, she decided to follow in their footsteps teaching herself how to weave yarn via online tutorials. As a recent graduate of Northeastern University with a BS in Neuroscience and Design, she was able to start incorporating her passion for fashion into her studies through a 3-D modeling class, which led to the exploration of weaving yarn with other mixed materials such as wood and metal. Current work focuses on creating different textures and patterns within a mixture of fiber art practices, including machine knitting and crochet.

Zoe Leff

Student designer

Hotgirlcrochets is handmade with love and weirdness by Zoe Leff in Boston, MA. Zoe is an Environmental Science student at Northeastern University. She learned how to crochet and knit from her mother, who learned how from her grandmother. Hotgirlcrochets was born as a culmination of Zoe’s intrinsically creative mind and her passion for changing the fashion industry to support slow, sustainable, intentional, and imperfect clothes. Her pieces are created on couches, in parks, coffee shops, with friends, on trains, and in class. Zoe feels most at herself with yarn and needles in hand, and she hopes this feeling is woven into each of her pieces.

Nami Yamaguchi

Student designer

Nami Yamaguchi is a Boston based artist and student studying Fiber Arts at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, working through a multidisciplinary lens. Throughout her time in undergrad, Nami has made an array of natural and sustainably sourced inks, and conducted a project where the inks were traded among artists for materials. The larger body of Yamaguchi's work is focused heavily on large-scale weaving installations, in an attempt to create a space outside of time for the viewer to participate in. The layering of materials and contexts is integral to this practice.

Accessibility Notice:

We strive to make our events accessible. To request a disability accommodation and/or language services, please contact the Adult Programs Department at [email protected] or 617-859-2129 by September 21. Please allow at least two weeks to arrange for accommodations.

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