NEWS: Young people discuss the future of fashion: FASHION FUTURE conference in Scotland

Dumfries House, November 14, 2025 : Together with The King's Foundation and the PVH Foundation, the Fashion Council Germany hosted its annual FASHION FUTURE conference at the historic Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland – the headquarters of His Majesty King Charles III's charity – in early November. Now in its third year, the event, themed "Crafting & Consuming Tomorrow," explored the social, environmental, and psychological impacts of fashion. Forty-eight students from Germany and 38 students from the United Kingdom participated in the conference.

The participants from Germany qualified through our GENERATION FUTURE initiative: This educational project, funded by the PVH Foundation and eBay, teaches young people aged 14 to 16 – especially those from comprehensive and secondary schools with a particularly diverse school community – about ecological, social, and economic issues and promotes their awareness of sustainable consumption. Following lessons on these topics, over 1,000 students were able to take part in a quiz, and 48 of them qualified for the trip to Scotland.

The conference day was opened by Jaqueline Farrell (Education Director, The King's Foundation) and Scott Lipinski (CEO, Fashion Council Germany), who emphasized the importance of exchange between young people and industry representatives in their speeches. The participating students gained fascinating insights into topics such as sustainable production, craftsmanship, materials science, and the impact of consumer behavior on the environment and society through various presentations and discussion rounds. Industry experts, teachers, and students came together for interactive roundtables to develop joint solutions for a more sustainable and diverse industry.

“Thanks to the support of our partners The King’s Foundation, the PVH Foundation, and eBay, this year’s conference once again facilitated an important exchange between young people and industry experts. It is always impressive to see how engaged the students are in discussing topics such as sustainability, craftsmanship, and responsible consumption. These encounters—with more students participating this year than ever before—provide valuable impetus for the future of the fashion industry and encourage us to further expand this exchange. The future belongs to the next generation—they are rethinking fashion and proving that attitude can bring about change,” said Scott Lipinski.

Following initial feedback from the students, Jacqueline Farrell also emphasized that many of them left with the feeling that the future of fashion lay in their hands. In this respect, the event symbolized the shared mission of The King's Foundation and the Fashion Council Germany.

In addition to the FASHION FUTURE conference, the young people enjoyed a week full of activities at the royal estate. A highlight was the upcycling workshop initiated by eBay, for which the students were able to select pre-owned clothing items via the platform and redesign them on site. This resulted in unique, personal pieces – a practical example of sustainable consumption and creative craftsmanship.

Five designers supported by the current edition of our FASHION x CRAFT project also attended the conference. Furthermore, they gained deeper insights into "passementerie" weaving, a traditional British craft technique, during a workshop organized by The King's Foundation.

This year's speakers included Barnaby Horn (The Chanel Millinery and The King's Foundation Embroidery Fellowship in partnership with Le19M Alumni), Ines Rust (DAWN Denim), Jon Liesenfeld and Lennart Bohle (Fashion X Craft), Karen Jessen (designer), Laura Gerte (designer), Natascha von Hirschhausen (designer), Nikie de Schryver (COSH!), Rebecca Habtemariam (TikTok editor ZEIT/freelance data journalist), Shakaila Forbes-Bell (fashion psychologist), Siobhan Mackenzie (designer) and Tamara Cincik (Fashion Roundtable).