K E A Q u a r t e r ly
Networking: an important part of the summer school is the coming together of the many international students and their teachers.
and jeans of all kinds, ripped, cut and without pockets and zippers. For the third year running, KEA is hosting the summer school course focusing on sustainable fashion. The initiative is supported by the EU’s Erasmus programme and next year the summer school will move on to the partner locations of London College of Fashion and Central St Martins. Today, jeans are on the agenda. The question is: what can you use jeans for, besides as an ordinary article of clothing? “In order to imbue sustainability in the designers of the future, we have to teach them about the entire process – not just design. They have to know how their work impacts the rest of the world, right from the production of the materials to their processing,” says Alexandra De Raeve, Coordinator of the Knowledge Centre for Fashion and Textiles at
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“I hope that students
discover that they can
be a part of changing the industry for the better by working sustainably. It’s the new generation that will have the opportunity to make a difference”
– Alexandra De Raeve, Coordinator of the department of Fashion and Textiles at University College Ghent in Belgium.
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University College Ghent in Belgium. She is just one of the many international instructors who once again has made the journey to KEA to teach students at the summer school. “I hope that students discover that they can be a part of changing the industry for the better by working sustainably. It’s the new generation that will have the opportunity to make a difference.” The students participate in workshops throughout the morning. Before the lunch break, Alexandra De Raeve gives a presentation on developments in the jeans industry. Based on her presentation, the students form groups and work on redesigning and thinking sustainable solutions for using jeans. One female student has wrapped a pair of jeans with ripped trouser legs around her head and waist. The rest of the group