Istituto Marangoni London Introduces MA in Responsible Fashion Programme Starting October 2023

Istituto Marangoni London will launch an innovative new MA in Responsible Fashion this October as part of their curriculum for the next academic year. The highly praised international fashion and design school is taking strides towards an initiative to promote a more sustainable future for generations to come. Students will be offered this innovative, cross-disciplinary Masters programme that provides an essential space for students with fashion design, textiles, business or other relevant backgrounds to gain the important knowledge, critical thinking and problem-solving capacities required to innovate new responsible fashion systems. The London school will provide the resources and preparation to radically reimagine fashion for a new Symbiocene era that supports positive change. 

Students will rethink the future of the fashion industry in philosophical, theoretical, experimental and practical ways, to find innovative solutions to the challenges we face and to develop ways that fashion may be used as a vehicle for positive change. New kinds of fashion practitioners are needed, who are able to think critically, creatively and collaboratively, with a holistic understanding, vision and skills that will enable the fashion industry to transition to a responsible and regenerative future. 

Through a series of collaborative and individual projects, students will develop and apply a strong theoretical understanding that includes ecological design principles, systems thinking, alternative economics, regenerative systems, future sourcing, indigenous knowledge systems, the local, the politics of luxury, and values-led communication to the development of new fashion systems and beautiful products that reflect their disciplines and goals. Within a framework of lectures, seminars, workshops, practical sessions and field trips, they will develop dynamic, cross-disciplinary collaborations to research, explore and conceptualize and create responsible fashion systems and processes that are not just less harmful but aim to be proactively positive to people and the planet. 

Key content of the programme includes:

• Critical debates and ethical positions for fashion and luxury.
• Alternative economics, ecology and systems thinking for fashion.
• Human-earth relationships, regenerative and indigenous knowledge systems.
• Futuring and creative problem-solving.
• The dynamic synergies between theory and practice. 
• New business models and new design practices for a responsible future.

The London school recently announced their mentorship with Grace Wales Bonner, award-winning British fashion designer and founder of menswear label, Wales Bonner. Grace joins a cadre of revered fashion mentors, including Katie Grand and Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, who were previously Ambassadors for the London and Paris school respectively. The school’s revered teaching methods, wide international network and quality resources will allow for the new course to be well-integrated into their institution.

“It is with great pleasure and honour that we announce the addition of our new MA Responsible Fashion programme to the London school. We believe it is important to make large strides to integrate sciences into the arts in this new era of Symbiocene, where we aim to shape the minds of students towards a sustainable human-nature alliance. The intersection of fashion, design and responsibility is very important today and we are excited to help maintain this harmony in the future of the arts.” says Valérie Berdah-Levy, London’s School Director.

To learn more about Istituto Marangoni, please visit their website: https://www.istitutomarangoni.com/en and Instagram at @IstitutoMarangoni_London.