The first conference was held on 28 November 2023, supported by the Colombian Embassay in France and featuring Laura Laurens, designer of her eponymous brand, and Lorraine LEDEMÉ PARIENTE from ITINÉRANCE*.

The conference took place in the Institut Français de la Mode Autorium and focused on the positive social impact of fashion, how to connect communities through sustainable practices and how to shed light on the important relevance of issues prevalent within these communities.

3 Key learning points from the conference: 

Creating “impossible” conversations

Laura Laurens highlighted her passion for creating “impossible” conversations through transforming fabric and making clothes. Laurens noted that as designers it is our responsibility to design our surroundings always keeping economic, environmental sustainability and social responsibility at the core.

Anyi Ballesteros’ work with Agroarte also lends to creating “impossible” conversations regarding reducing the stigma surrounding the use of coca leaves and spreading awareness of their properties and uses through their work.

 Time

Another important topic which was woven into conversation was the subject of time. Lorraine Ledemé Pariente from Itinerance discussed the importance of time to build relationships with the communities that Itinerance works with along the Mediterranean Basin. They have worked with around 10 communities so far which has taken time to develop as they focus on contributing to these craftswomens’ creative, social and economic emancipation and it takes even more time to cocreate, therefore from this we can understand just how intrinsically linked sustainability is with time.

Likewise, Laurens mentioned how important time is to reduce the stigmatisation of minority social groups and to build trust with these communities. For her, creating garments is a powerful tool to build bridges between communities and cut stigmas.

 Natural dying techniques

Agroarte has been growing silk for over 30 years, and they do so with incredible traceability. They start by helping the worm to grow, then spin the thread, tint the silk and weave it, using traditional methods. In 2022 they started using the coca fibre to enrich the colour palette and now they have 96 different colour variations. They are currently researching how the natural coca dye works on different fabrics such as cotton, wool and banana fibres. 

Another natural dying technique which was brought up in conversation was Itinerance’s work with a community of craftswomen in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas where henna vegetable dye is used. This colouring has a rich spiritual meaning, celebrating rites of passage for women and acting as a protective charm for those who wear it.