Research

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom." Socrates

Can academic & industry research create a shared vision for a circular future?

What if we could design garments for different speeds of use?

Can we improve a material’s desirability and biodegradability with new finishes?

How can we enable circular and responsive manufacturing through new digital processes?

Can fast fashion ever be sustainable?

Can textile waste be made into fabric that's soft as a baby?

Can textile waste be incorporated into future car production?

How can we extend the use of fashion textile products through narrative design?

Can we transform existing manufacturing lines with 'bolt-on' technologies?

Can designers make tools to support lifecycle thinking?

How can we build a conversation with environmental science to inform our creative process?

What can research leaders do help grow emerging circular economies?

Can portrait making support interdisciplinary collaboration?

Is mechanical recycling a growing industry?

Do your clothes have the ability to transform into other garments?

How can people connect through circular fashion, location and conviviality?

Can designers and scientists speak the same language?

Can repair be a craft practice in its own right?

Can meditation and silent-sketching help bridge gaps in working relationships?

Should we shop with a shavasana mindset?

How can we communicate the evolving material landscape for circular design?

Can future fashion designers really change the world?

Can a pack of cards be used as a tool for change?

Imagine if our clothes lasted as long as the materials they were made from?

How can we share our sustainable design tools with the world?

Can we co-design a new fashion textile industry?

How can we teach students sustainable design through Materials, Models, and Mindsets?

How can we engage the research community at UAL and beyond around the theme of designing for a circular economy?

How can fashion designers change ‘business as usual’?

How possible is it for existing fashion businesses to become circular?

How can design researchers create a more circular industry from the inside?

What insights can we draw from reflecting on the challenges of prototyping circular garments?

How can we engage the industry with sustainable design research?

As practice researchers, how can we use our diverse skills and knowledge to change industry practices?

What might the future of chemical recycling look like?

BFTT is led by University of the Arts London (UAL) in collaboration with UCL, Loughborough University, University of Cambridge, University of Leeds and Queen Mary University London, and includes specialist research centres in sustainable fashion, circular design, fashion business and innovation, digital anthropology, materials and textiles manufacturing

Kate Goldsworthy has taken up the role of Deputy Director of BFTT and continues to work with Rosie Hornbuckle and colleagues at LCF.

The Circular Design Speeds project was developed as part of the Mistra Future Fashion Design Themeresearch. The proposition was to develop ‘ultra-fast’ and ‘super-slow’ design prototypes for different extremes of use, in order to better understand the design implications of different circular systems.

Researchers worked closely with material developers and service providers, to design appropriate materials for different speeds of use, production and recovery. They developed the concepts whilst also continuing to share their approaches with fashion designers in industry to enable commercial prototypes to be developed alongside the research garments.

The work resulted in several major outcomes: The Circular Transitions conference and Making Circles exhibition in 2016, exhibits in the V&A’s Fashioned from Nature exhibition and permanent collection in 2018, the Disrupting Patterns exhibition with Filippa K also in 2018 and the Circular Design Guidelines to be published in 2019.

See below for project stories:

Service Shirt: a 50-year fashion statement, Mistra

Design for Permanence: Filippa K, Mistra

Fast Forward: Fast & Light Fashion, Mistra

Design for Transience: Filippa K, Mistra

Imagine if our clothes lasted as long as the materials they were made from?

100% bio-based and 100% biodegradable, this concept dress is the Filippa K solution to fast fashion. It provides the wearer with an opportunity to update their wardrobe on a whim and dress up for a special occasion - while also reducing the environmental impact of this behaviour.

A rainy day layer, protective overcoat, or even an unconventional dress, the Filippa K 2018 Front Runner styles are inspired by the eternal elegance of the trench coat and its ability to suit any season or occasion. The light material can be packed easily for on-the-go accessibility, and the water­repellency makes it wearable in any weather.

Could our clothes be produced, worn and recovered to balance fashion with sustainability?

A collection of essays and interviews edited by Rebecca Earley and authored by the Centre for Circular Design’s internal and external researchers, associates and knowledge exchange collaborators.

How can design education help to revive the charity shop sector, post Covid-19?