Through a global network of sovereign, yet connected fashioning coalitions, we want to decentralise contemporary fashion discourse and practice, engender solidarity across multiple lines of difference and activate self-representation, self-determination and self-governance in regard to fashion.
We can only realize this ambitious goal if the diversity of voices expands and the disruptions become more mainstream. It is our intention to expand our network and encourage a greater diversity of voices.
We invite you to share the developments of decolonial fashion discourses and practices in your area of the world. If you have an informal or already established network of thinkers, writers, designers, makers that constitute a decolonial fashion collective, please share your news through our newsletter so that hubs of decolonial fashion become visible and known. Send us your information by email.
South Africa
African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI)
During the last two years, Erica de Greef has been working on building a community of critical Southern African fashion thinkers to challenge, confront, explore and expand on definitions of fashion, whether global or local. This community includes artists, designers, academics, filmmakers, writers and stylists all working with fashion in ways to interrupt the colonial impact on ways of dress, ways of making and ways of wearing. Together with co-founder Lesiba Mabitsela, the African Fashion Research Institute is creating both projects and platforms to decolonise fashion. So far, the hub has led some think tanks, a series of lectures and talks, and most recently, launched a short online course confronting the stereotypes of African fashion. The course, African Fashion(?) aims to nurture more diverse voices in the field of fashion and decoloniality from the Global South.
South America
Moda e Decolonialidade: Encruzilhadas do Sul Global (Fashion and Decoloniality: Global South Crossroads Collective)
Moda e Decolonialidade: Encruzilhadas do Sul Global (Fashion and Decoloniality: Global South Crossroads Collective) is associated to Human Rights, Culture and Identity working group at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ), supported by National Council for Scientific and Techonological Development CNPq.
The Fashion and Decoloniality Collective is composed of interdisciplinary researchers from Brazilian and North American universities, whose purpose is to draw reflections on post-colonial and decolonial scholarship, pursuing critically and analytically ways that fashion has traditionally been approached in Brazil, as the conceptual framework used to analyze Brazilian fashion is based usually on the Eurocentric epistemic theory, concepts, issues and methodologies.
Contact info: modaedecolonialidade@gmail.com
North America
Canadian Fashion Scholars Network Founded by Kat Sark in 2014, the Canadian Fashion Scholar Network is designed for fashion scholars, curators, and fashion professionals to collaborate on various research projects in different fields of fashion (fashion history, material culture, gender and fashion, intersectionality and decolonization, technology, sustainability, and urban fashion cultures) in universities, fashion schools, museums, fashion organizations, and the creative industries in Canada and beyond. Along with the annual symposia and events held across Canadian museums and universities, the network also connects members through its social media platforms, podcast, digital resources, and other tools to facilitate easier information and research exchange, and to allow fashion scholars to expand Fashion Studies in and beyond Canada. The annual symposium is designed to bring scholars and professionals together for networking and collaborative workshops. The goal is to inspire more collaboration and to make Fashion Studies more just. In 2020, the network shifted its focus from annual symposia and networking events to collaborative Digital Working Groups, where members and non-members could together construct resources for fashion education, curation, and research. The main focus of the working groups was on ethics, sustainability, and decolonization of fashion studies, fashion education, and fashion curation. We hope to be able to continue to grow and expand these resources.
Website: https://fashionscholars.wixsite.com/home
Contact: ksark@sdu.dk
Europe
International Fashion Scholars Network
In 2019, Kat Sark launched a series of workshops on decolonizing Fashion History and Fashion Studies in Denmark and Germany, and began building an International Fashion Scholars Network, with fashion researchers, scholars, and professionals collaborating together on workshops, conferences, international events, scholarly publications, and podcasts that help establish, develop, and sustain the discipline of Fashion Studies in the EU, and particularly help educate current and future fashion scholars, critical thinkers, project managers, and design practitioners in the fields of fashion ethics, decoloniality, and sustainability. Last year, Kat Sark also launched Chic Podcast, dedicated to fashion, design, culture, sustainability, decoloniality, media, and technology.
Contact: ksark@sdu.dk
North Africa
Fashion Liberation Collective
We are the Fashion Liberation collective North Africa (FLCNA). The regional attribution is key, as we intend to expand and collaborate with other regions, interested in creating an independent, or parallel fashion system. The initial motivator that led to the creation of our collective, was the lack of ‘native’ texts, knowledge, opinions, documentation during the colonial and post colonial periods of North Africa. Histories had been erased and merged into one oriental fantasy. It is our mission to represent our region of north Africa, by first taking steps towards a decolonial fashion system that researches and analyses the past. We aim to bring to light the ‘true’ North African representations, in art and design. By owning and rewriting the gaps in our history, addressing the issues and creating a place for North African creativity we truly hope we can provide a wealth of material for design and creative student’s of the region. We aim to become scholars from North Africa , specialising in our roots. We hold events to provide a space for support and collaboration and hope this initiative will grow and add more diverse regions, hoping to create their own systems. It is our ambition that this will eventually play a role in the education of North African youth to come. That FLCNA will provide a platform for North African creatives to represent their heritage and showcase their work, by using our vast network and local workshops and makers. Be the change, be informed, be better. Join us!
Website: https://www.fashionliberationcollective.co.uk
Instagram: @fashion_liberation_collective
Contact info: fashionliberationcollective@gmail.com
Research Collective for Decoloniality & Fashion 