Panelists: Liz Helfer, AK Liesenfeld and Karen Meninno

Fashion acts as a mirror to society and represents the cultural evolution of human civilization. A revolution in fashion is now occurring, as emerging designers look for eco-friendly and inspirational ways to help mitigate climate change. As more of the fashion industry realizes its impact as one of the highest polluters of the environment, some designers see that there is an energetic exchange between what they produce and the effect of their production process. They are upcycling and re-cycling fabrics and clothing, sourcing organic and sustainable production and supply chains, inventing new construction techniques that produce less waste while rethinking future fashion as conceptual art, virtual reality design, or smart clothing connected to AI networks.

Will fashion be relevant in a future world? Fashion will always be relevant as a means of self-expression and individuality, as we become more connected in more global, homogeneous machine-based, societies. Fashion promotes individual creativity, which is both enabled by and an antidote to a homogenous world. Join us for a future-forward conversation on the subject.

For questions or concerns, please contact Randi Hopkins at randi@bostonarts.org or 617.426.1522.