The Lab E20, designed and produced by Christopher Raeburn in partnership with Get Living, welcomes Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL as its new resident partner. As part of The Lab E20’s Regenerative by Design cultural programme, it will also host London College of Fashion (LCF)’s MA Fashion Futures and MA Cities courses, bringing together higher education, industry and innovation under one roof.
In celebration of the opening of London College of Fashion, UAL’s East Bank campus within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the new exhibition The Future of Fashion: Imagining Possibilities has been developed to document the local and global impact of regenerative design – from the garments we wear, to the ways in which we shape our cities and communities.
The exhibition has been co-curated by Yasmin Jones-Henry (RÆBURN), Professor Dilys Williams (Director, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL) and Amanda Johnston (The Sustainable Angle) and is open to the public until October 2024.
Students on London College of Fashion’s MA Fashion Futures course will also exhibit, share and test ideas and projects in The Lab E20 throughout the Autumn 2023 term. The course connects fashion’s social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects, and examines perspectives from local to global scales and embrace fashion practice from both traditional and technological spheres. Students are invite to critique the nature and purpose of design in a rapidly changing world and envision alternative ways fashion might be created and experienced in the future.
Professor Dilys Williams, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London said: “Creativity is never a solo endeavour, it involves the living world, the air we breathe, the earth we tread and our fellow beings. The Future of Fashion: Imagining Possibilities is a partnership in the world, between Raeburn and Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL. It can make us bolder and stronger in treading new paths towards a wellbeing economy in social, ecological, financial and cultural terms. By becoming a programme partner to Regenerative by Design, we will be creating a living lab where demonstrations of our interdependencies can be experienced in myriad ways. Look out for the programme of events, workshops, screenings and meet ups.”
As part of its flagship cultural programme Regenerative by Design (2022-2024), The Lab E20 continues to support local emerging talent by providing free and accessible exhibition and pop-up retail opportunities throughout the year for emerging artists and SMEs.
The Lab E20 also remains committed to diversifying career pathways and opportunities into the creative industries for local young people, through partnerships such as Intoart (London based charity in support of designers with learning difficulties and disabilities), the Young Craft Citizens (Crafts Council), D Lab Studios, the Grimshaw Foundation and Trash Club.
Ailish Christian West, Chief Operating Officer at Get Living said: “In 2020 we set out the bold place-shaping vision that by 2025 East Village would become the gateway to London’s Fashion District and residential and commercial hub to East Bank. Through our ongoing collaboration with RÆBURN in The Lab E20 and our new partnership with Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL, we are excited to see this vision coming to life. With the opening of the London College of Fashion’s new campus this Autumn, we’re delighted to see The Lab E20 playing a role in this historic moment for Stratford, for Newham, and for London’s creative economy.”
Over the last two years The Lab E20 has played host to thousands of local visitors, residents, students and aspiring entrepreneurs, supported by our programme partners such as the British Fashion Council, The Sustainable Angle, D Lab Studios, Fashion Revolution, Project ReGo, Rosetta Arts, Fashion District-London, Newham Council, Crafts Council, MD Brunch, Colechi, Royal College of Art and many more.
Yasmin Jones-Henry, Curator & Co-Founder of The Lab E20 adds: “Our cultural programme: Regenerative by Design delivers a new paradigm for cross-sector collaboration. By empowering local creatives and higher education partners to collaborate and co-create with developers such as Get Living (who are long term stakeholders in East London’s community and local economy) and higher education institutions such as London College of Fashion, UAL, we are manifesting the solutions we wish to scale across the worlds of fashion, architecture and urban design – we’re also reshaping the culture and the opportunities for local residents, local youth and local entrepreneurs.”
Find more information on What’s on in The Lab E20.
ENDS
Note to editors
About Get Living
Get Living is the UK’s leading build to rent investor, developer, and operator. We provide quality rental homes in neighbourhoods that nurture togetherness, belonging and opportunity in a way that generates financial, environmental, and social value for residents and shareholders alike. Over 10 years, Get Living’s portfolio has grown to 4,000 homes for rent across London and Manchester with further neighbourhoods coming to Lewisham, Maidenhead, Birmingham, Leatherhead and Leeds, taking the portfolio to 10,500 homes.
At East Village, Get Living has curated and nurtured a thriving community that more than 6,000 people and 30 independent businesses call home. In 2021 it launched it’s first experiential retail, cultural exhibition and creative workspace at The Lab E20, in partnership with Christopher Raeburn, founder of RÆBURN.
About RÆBURN
For the last 15 years, RÆBURN has been a pathfinder for new systems thinking in fashion and responsible design. Our business model, our aesthetic and our ethos have been a driving force in building momentum towards a truly circular and regenerative global economy.
As our business has evolved, we’ve tried, tested and proven our “Remade, Reduced, Recycled” motif can be scaled and translated into other industries outside of fashion, such as architecture, furniture design, film and cultural placemaking. As a regenerative design studio our mission is to continue as a catalyst for change and as a collaborator, we bring together expertise, innovation and communities to co-create solutions.
Our “Craft, Creativity and Collaboration” methodology enables us to work with stakeholders, investors, manufacturers and policy makers successfully to manifest our mission to transform the world through responsible design.
About Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL
Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) is a University of Arts London research centre based at London College of Fashion, UAL. CSF challenges the status quo and seeks to design and develop research, education and knowledge exchange with businesses, creating new ways for us to live well, together in nature.
London College of Fashion, UAL, leads the world in fashion business, media and design education. We’ve been nurturing creative talent for over a century, offering courses in all things fashion. With our philosophy of open and inclusive education, we encourage students to examine the past and question the present. To develop inventive, assertive ideas that challenge social and political agendas. From our new home at East Bank, in the heart of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, we’re forging partnerships, opening up opportunities, and creating connections with east London’s schools, community and industry. In doing so, we’ll continue to pioneer how we all consume and practice fashion. Use fashion business, media and design to shape culture, economics, and society. And through fashion, shape lives.
