“There is nothing wrong with loving fashion for its beauty,” says Jacqueline Farrell, Education Director at The King’s Foundation. In this interview, she explains why it is equally important to engage young people with the more serious dimensions of the industry — through initiatives such as the FASHION ZUKUNFT conference and the residency programmes GENERATION ZUKUNFT and FASHION X CRAFT, which Fashion Council Germany runs in partnership with The King’s Foundation in Scotland.

Jacqueline Farrell, why is it important to introduce young people, students and pupils, to key fashion topics like sustainability, fair production, and craftsmanship at an early stage?

We often only start discussing sustainability or environmental issues once we are already in professional life. Only then do we struggle with these problems and ask ourselves: How are we supposed to solve this now? But by that point, we are already in the middle of these challenges, and we should have the skills to deal with them. That’s why we place great emphasis on giving young people not just practical skills, but also awareness of the issues that we must address now and in the future, including with regard to our planet.

How do you implement this at The King’s Foundation?

It’s crucial to engage with young people in an adult manner on the issues affecting our industry. They respond incredibly well when you say: “Here’s the problem, here’s the challenge, how can we fix it?” We show them some of the solutions that are already in place and ask: “What can you do now? What do you want to do in the future?”

And that doesn’t overwhelm them?

Society often believes that young people are not ready to think about such issues or that they cannot grasp their depth. But in reality, teenagers begin thinking about their future and careers around the age of 13 or 14, and they enjoy being treated like adults. When we host our conferences with the Fashion Council Germany and have, for example, Christiane Arp speak to them from the front row, that’s something 14-year-olds don’t usually experience. The industry should not say: “You’re only worthy of my attention when you’re 22.”

In partnership with The King’s Foundation, the Fashion Council Germany’s annual FASHION ZUKUNFT Conference at Dumfries House in Scotland also exposes young people to fashion as a career. I heard a student from Germany was so inspired by Christiane Arp that she decided to become a fashion designer.

That shows that when you have inspiration, role models, and the opportunity to engage with these topics early on, you become an informed consumer, and possibly an informed professional. You enter the industry knowing what’s wrong. In my generation, no one really had any idea that something could be wrong within the fashion industry. Yet we helped build the fast fashion movement that exploits people. At the time, no one really talked about these problems in the industry — and as long as you don’t address global issues collectively, you cannot solve them.

How does the collaboration between the Fashion Council and The King’s Foundation work? The joint projects include the FASHION ZUKUNFT conference, the GENERATION ZUKUNFT residency program, and FASHION X CRAFT. Can you explain the method and why it reaches and inspires young people?

When Scott Lipinski first contacted us, he was curious about our work on craftsmanship and fashion at Dumfries House. The King’s Foundation strives to ensure that our work is not limited to our Scottish headquarters or the UK; international exchange, especially within Europe, is very important to us. So we decided to organise a conference to bring professionals from both countries together and ask: Where are the shared challenges? The 2019 conference marked our first exchange. I suggested that, in addition to an industry conference, we should also organise one for 12- to 18-year-olds. I was tired of attending the same conferences with the same people, where nothing ever changed. I said: “We have to tell the young people, those who will follow in our footsteps, about these things.” So Scott and I simply tried it. We were surprised that many guest speakers were nervous, asking: “How do I talk to a 14-year-old about these issues?” And I replied: “How do you talk to a 21-year-old or a 65-year-old? Just normally, like a conversation.“

And how did it go?

At the first conference, we asked students to share what they wanted to change after that day. We created tailor’s mannequins with paper tags where they wrote their resolutions: “Consume less,” “Hold companies more accountable,” “Keep my clothes longer.” It was the first time the Fashion Council Germany saw how quickly mindsets could change and responsibility could be entrusted to young people — responsibility they normally wouldn’t have been given. That motivated us to continue the conferences. Out of this collaboration, FASHION ZUKUNFT was born, which we financially support.

How does FASHION ZUKUNFT work?

Our German partners developed online courses that were introduced in schools and selected the most talented students to come to Scotland for an intensive learning week. The conference is the highlight, where German and Scottish students meet. I noticed that the questions from the German students went much deeper — they were the ones who had already completed the courses. The programme at Dumfries House fostered a questioning, investigative mindset and imparted more profound knowledge. They no longer accept answers at face value without critical reflection, for example, if someone says fabrics can be dyed using algae, they respond: “But doesn’t that harm the seabed?”

Can you tell us about the FASHION X CRAFT project?

The project was Scott’s idea, bringing German fashion students to Scotland for three weeks to learn craft skills, even with materials not directly related to fashion, such as stone, wood, metal, and plaster. We demonstrate that these materials can open up entirely new avenues for the market, for silhouettes, for proportions, and for working with materiality. Participants also value the opportunity to slow down, observe nature, and work with natural materials.

Craftsmanship plays a central role in your work. Do you believe the value of well-made, durable clothing can be made more visible again?

We try to raise awareness of craft skills, the time, care, and value involved. For example, we also have projects with Chanel in embroidery and haute couture. When you know how long something takes and how beautiful it is, you don’t throw it away. This mindset has been lost. Clothes used to be passed down, repaired, altered, and kept until they were fashionable again. Today, people think they can just discard garments because they have so many.

What is the solution?

We aim to improve the message: The more that is produced, the more harm is done to the environment. Production will always exist, but let it be ethical. Let’s celebrate craftsmen and pay fair wages. Sustainability means considering both ecological and economic factors. Many recycling solutions still legitimise cheap mass production. Young people realise they have been misled, that’s part of my mission: to make it clear to them without shaming them.

Do you try to preserve traditional craft techniques?

Once knowledge is lost, it is lost forever. We cannot save all techniques, there aren’t enough people willing to learn them for years. But we try to preserve what we can and highlight its importance. We collaborate with the Heritage Crafts Association in the UK, which publishes an annual list of endangered crafts, similar to the Red List for animals. When a craft is listed, we increase our efforts there.

Can you give an example?

Currently, the hand-sewn Scottish kilt is regarded as endangered because machine-made ones are more affordable. A genuine kilt is entirely handmade and demands significant skill. Efforts are ongoing to grant it protected status, similar to traditional techniques in Japan, where people are willing to pay more for it. We aim to make traditional craft forms modern. Nobody will wear wooden shoes again, but some dances in the UK still require them. Or we take old techniques like fine embroidery and apply them to modern designs, so they stay desirable. Instead of copying medieval patterns, we adapt the technique into contemporary design.

Could it be the role of universities to teach traditional techniques in new ways?

If you study fashion, you should understand how things are made in order to design them better. For a long time, there was a separation: you could create collections digitally without knowing how they are produced. But if you’ve never sewn something by hand, you cannot design effectively, resourcefully, or realistically. Fashion is also a form of engineering — and increasingly a science. And finally: there is nothing wrong with loving fashion for its beauty. Clothes help us enter spaces confidently.

Are there exciting new projects coming up?

We are currently working on a project with Amazon MGM in costume craftsmanship. We are exploring how film, TV, and theatre productions can better incorporate craft skills. A particular concern of mine is forging a stronger link between agriculture and fashion. Without healthy soil, there are no fibres, no natural dyes, no leather. We want students to visit farms, meet sheep, compare wool fibres, and understand why wool is water-repellent, fire-resistant, warm, and breathable. Every fashion student should have visited a farm at least once.

This conversation is an excerpt from our 10-year Fashion Council Germany booklet, in which we reflect on a decade of shaping and advancing German fashion. Discover the full booklet and explore all the stories and highlights HERE.