Holistic Fashion Design

Holistic Fashion Design: My INNER/OUTER Journey - Elin Lindquist’s Acceptance Speech for the Noble Peace Prize in 2030 (2015)

Creative writing and story-telling is an important way to share ideas and insights, especially when working with diverse audiences. In this book chapter, Becky Earley and Clara Vuletich take us in to a future scenario where a fashion designer is being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to changing global fashion in to a circular and ethical industry.

Elin Lindquist is a fictional Swedish character created to illustrate how current research and theory is working towards developing a fashion industry of the future that is more sustainable - from a material, technical, social and policy perspective. Thie chapter was written as if Elin has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for her contribution to design, resource use, material innovation, and evolving new value systems - through her pioneering work in fashion.

The speech is being given at a school in Stockholm, to students between the ages of 16- 18, and reflects upon the various phases of her career. Elin is being recognised for the way in which she strategically built her knowledge and skillset - and her fashion label ‘’INNER/OUTER’ - over a fifteen year period. Her work as a fashion designer has had a profound effect on the industry through her approach to the circular economy; her experimentation with materials, process, technology and systems design; her empathy and progressive social vision for production workers; and her political activism. Although she is a fictitious character, everything the authors say she has achieved is technically possible, and is based on current academic or industry research. Much of the insight has come about through the CCD’s involvement with Mistra Future Fashion, which brings designers together with scientists to find sustainable and economic solutions for the fashion industry of the future.