‘Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.’
 – Oscar Wilde

The last few years have been destabilising, disruptive and unsettling for the fashion industry, and indeed, education. Post-pandemic, in this Anthropocene age – the ‘waste’ age – we need to reconsider the whole fashion system. And it is a behemoth, one that is affected financially, environmentally, and personally by climate change, geopolitics, AI and technology.

Fashion Design is often seen as superficial and frivolous, feminine, or worse – immoral and unserious. It is more often thought of in relation to womenswear as menswear is subject to less rapid change. But the fact is that fashion/ clothing is an industry of major economic, environmental, and cultural significance. We all wear clothes, they are the barrier between us and the world, a necessity, a uniform, sometimes armour and yes, sometimes it is frivolous.

Fashion touches us all, literally, and metaphorically, and you cannot separate colour from fashion. Join us as we take the long view when considering some of the complexities arising from colour in the fashion industry, from greenwashing to a greener future – and ask, ‘does colour even exist?’ There has never been a more pressing need for creative solutions. Let us lead from the front!

Delia Crowe
D.J.Crowe@soton.ac.uk