Fashion Revolution is to stage a digital version of its annual Fashion Question Time event because of the current measures in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Entitled 'Mass consumption: The end of an era', this year's event - which is being run in partnership with London's Victoria & Albert Museum, will be live-streamed on YouTube.

The event will be staged at 11am BST (6am ET) on Friday 24th April on Fashion Revolution’s YouTube channel and recorded for later viewing on the non-profit's website.

It will be chaired by Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey, the co-chair of the APPG for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion, with panellists including Grazia fashion director Kenya Hunt; Bear Scouts co-founder Dio Kurazawa; Dr Lisa Cameron, MP and chair of the APPG for Textiles and Fashion; Professor Kate Fletcher, of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion; and Mary Creagh, the former MP who led the Environmental Audit Committee's inquiry into the impact of fashion.

Fashion Revolution said the theme of this year's event - which falls on the seventh anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster - could not be more relevant to the present situation facing the industry.

Orsola de Castro, the organisation's co-founder and creative director, said: “Fashion Question Time is an opportunity for all fashion stakeholders, from citizens to designers to producers, academics and policymakers to come together and champion a collective vision for the future of our industry, one that requires radical and systemic change now more than ever.”

Edwina Ehrman, senior curator of textiles and fashion at the V&A, added: “We are sadly not able to host this year’s event because of the global pandemic, however we are delighted that this important event in the fashion calendar is taking place online.

"I and my colleagues at the V&A will be watching and encourage everyone concerned about the future of fashion to join us. Now more than ever, we need to engage with the challenges that lie ahead to create a better future for the world and its inhabitants.”

Fashion Revolution says the format of the event will be unchanged, relying on selected, pre-submitted questions by industry professionals and members of the public. By streaming online, it hopes to reach a wider audience and deliver its message to a global audience.

Panellists will focus on issues including climate change, alternatives to unsustainable business models, waste, and ways in which citizens can start their own journey to implementing less wasteful lifestyles while respecting the people who make their clothes.

Fashion Question Time forms part of Fashion Revolution Week, a global campaign calling for a fairer, safer, more transparent fashion industry, which runs from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th of April. This year’s focus will be on four key areas: consumption, composition, conditions and collective action.

Source: EcoTextile News