Versatile Academy #4: The Power of Storytelling

Recently the Dutch clothing brand launched "Versatile Academy", a program aimed at bridging the gap between small-scale fashion labels and textile sorting and recycling companies. Over six months, four fashion designers are challenged to immerse themselves in the textile sorting and recycling process and rethink how we find, sort, value, and reuse second-hand textiles. Throughout these months Versatile Academy organizes different events to share knowledge on the topic and broaden the upcycling community.Versatile Academy is an initiative of Rotterdam-based fashion brand Versatile Forever and is organized in close collaboration with platform Fashion in Flux. The project is supported by sorting- and recycling company Opnieuw Goed, Creative Industry Fund NL and Gemeente Rotterdam. The visit of Sel Kofiga is made possible by the International Visitors Programme of the Nieuwe Instituut with support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Versatile Forever

We'll dive into the world of storytelling with Priya Ahluwalia & talk with brand agency The Young on the importance of the right narrative.

Nieuwe Instituut

<h3>The Power of Storytelling</h3> One of the bigger challenges in the fashion industry is post consumer waste. In Rotterdam only, 2 million kilos of textile waste are gathered every year by Opnieuw Goed, the company responsible for sorting the city’s textile containers. Currently, 9% of the waste from textile containers can be re-used locally. 29% is used for material recycling, but the majority of the textile is exported and frequently ends up on the African continent. The stories linked to these secondhand clothes, and the impact they have in the Global South, still remain largely intangible for its original owners in the Global North.

Left image: Ahluwalia x Microsoft Collaboration - Photography by Ron Timehin.Right image: Sweet Lassi - Photography by Luca Anzalone Priya Ahluwalia on the importance of storytellingOn 7 October, Versatile Forever and Fashion in Flux invite Priya Ahluwalia, fashion designer, filmmaker and founder of multi-award winning fashion brand <a href="https://ahluwalia.world" title="https://ahluwalia.world" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Ahluwalia</a>, to speak about the power and importance of storytelling in fashion. Inspired by art, music and literature, much of the work created by Ahluwalia goes beyond her collections and includes collaborative campaigns, books and films. Through her namesake brand, Ahluwalia explores the life of vintage and dead-stock materials, and makes lasting impact with stories, inspired by her dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots and lifestyle. Stories need to be toldYophi Ignacia and Esther Muñoz Grootveld, co-founders of Fashion in Flux, will be moderating the evening. Preceding the interview with Priya Ahluwalia, they will have an inspiring conversation with Rotterdam-based brand agency <a href="https://theyoung.agency" title="https://theyoung.agency" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Young</a> to share their vision on storytelling, specifically linked to responsible fashion.Throughout the event, <a href="https://www.patchworkfamilyofficial.com" title="https://www.patchworkfamilyofficial.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Patchwork Family</a>, a young performative, upcycling fashion collective of Dutch makers, will activate the foyer area of New institute with a custom fashion performance.

Sweet Lassi - Photography by Priya Ahluwalia About Versatile Academy‘The Power of Storytelling’ is the last in a series of four public events of Versatile Academy, a program that aims to bridge the gap between small scale fashion labels and textile sorting and recycling companies. During six months, four fashion makers are challenged to dive into the sorting and recycling process, and rethink the ways we find, sort, value and reuse second hand textiles. Prior to Priya Ahluwalia, the Versatile Academy invited amongst others Sel Kofiga (Ghana), Brigitte Stepputtis (UK) and SUAY (US) to share their visions. Versatile Academy is an initiative of Rotterdam-based fashion brand Versatile Forever and is organized in close collaboration with platform Fashion in Flux. The project is supported by sorting- and recycling company Opnieuw Goed, Creative Industry Fund NL and Gemeente Rotterdam. ‘Crafting Stories in Fashion’ is a pre-event for the Dutch Sustainable Fashion Week in Rotterdam. Organized by:Versatile Forever in collaboration with Fashion in Flux<a href="https://www.versatileforever.com/" title="https://www.versatileforever.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.versatileforever.com/</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/versatileforever" title="https://www.instagram.com/versatileforever" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.instagram.com/versatileforever</a>/<a href="https://www.instagram.com/fashioninflux_nl" title="https://www.instagram.com/fashioninflux_nl" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.instagram.com/fashioninflux_nl</a>/ Supported by:Opnieuw Goed, New Institute, Gemeente Rotterdam, Creative Industry Fund NL

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Versatile Academy #4: The Power of Storytelling

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