Nov 9, 20222 min read

FACE Summit

Updated: May 30

The FACE Summit was in October, and it was a great success. We had over 1,000 registered online attendees, with 450 people attending at the location, in London. I had the opportunity to speak on two live panels, we anticipated a big turnout, because these are conversations that are current within the fashion design industry that have raised professional and public consciousness. The summit itself was a way of decolonising fashion, by opening an important dialogue which will be used to change minds and change the way we do things.

Decolonisation, in the fashion world means to create equity, raising people up to a level where they can compete in a western fashion system, without it being labelled as traditional, oriental, exotic, or just different. It is about bringing a variety of cultures together and them having an equal space at fashion shows and other spaces, without being seen as foreign. I feel that most of the world, is suffering from an identity crisis, as we come out of a post-colonial system. For some, we are not British enough or not Egyptian enough, instead of experiencing our identities within both worlds, we are often made to choose.

Nada Koreish,(she/her) MRes PGCE(PCET) BA(Hons) ندى قريش

To re address these stereotypes, I started the Fashion Liberation Collective, so that we can retrace our history and explore where the authentic inspiration for patterns and original designs come from. Big brands have used cultural appropriation for years and it would be ethical to give something back, My vision for the future is for people to have the credit where credit is due, to the people or countries that have created authentic patterns and designs. Our collective vision, through the Global Fashion Assembly, is about decolonising and decentralising fashion around the world, where no-one dictates to anyone, and designers can be free flowing. Another issue around ethics is that the fashion world is always trivialised, as if it is less than art, but it is the 3rd biggest industry in the world. So, there should be a greater appreciation, particularly when holding brands to account.

The emphasis on ethics, in terms of buying power, is always put onto the consumer. We can argue that some factories around the world, pay fairer wages, or have compromised working conditions. But we need to look at the flip side, where do these employees go for work, if the supplier is the main employer in that country? What we must do is put the agency on the brand to ensure that work standards are being met and people are treated fairly. One solution is that we could start to accredit factories, by maybe having an agency that police’s suppliers. There is a long way to go, but by teaching these issues to my students, it opens a discussion around what they can do when they go into the industry and how are they going to make their mark for change.

The important thing is, that our collective based, is designed by us, for us!