The fashion system is facing a great challenge. On the one hand, designers and big brands experience the enormous pressure to produce new collections at an ever higher pace, leaving less room for reflection, contemplation and innovation, causing fashion to increasingly undermine itself. On the other hand there is the continuous race to produce at even lower costs and implement more rapid life cycles, presenting disastrous consequences for society and the environment. Globalisation, climate change and the increasing pressure on scarce agricultural land and resources make the situation even more urgent.

In addition, fashion no longer seems to be in touch with the standards and values of our current time. Fashion still presents the image of a world of classic glamour and status, a luxury dream that is no longer appealing or relevant nowadays. The Millennial generation has exchanged the car for the bike and having possessions is making way for a sharing economy.

Something has to change, that much is clear, but nobody knows how or where to begin. Nevertheless, there are numerous initiatives and projects worldwide that approach fashion and clothing in a fundamentally different way. Initiatives that do not primarily think about fashion from an economic position, or use sustainability as a cheap marketing trick, but operate on the basis of radically different questions. How can fashion contribute to a better living environment, while still fulfilling an aesthetic desire? Can an ultimate consumer good still be produced in an ecologically and socially responsible way? And how can fashion truly express the ethical standards and values of this era.

state of fashion 2018 | searching for the new luxury primarily aims to provide a stage for (often unknown) initiatives, which aim for an innovative, sustainable and fair form of fashion that still manages to seduce. It also aspires to be a breeding ground for new ideas, create interdisciplinary exchange and bring unexpected partners together. Urgent, critical, provocative and inspiring for professionals, the industry and students, as well as for a wider audience. In so doing, state of fashion 2018 | searching for the new luxury will be the first-large scale international public event dedicated to sustainable and fair fashion.

José Teunissen, Arnhem, 1 July 2017

state of fashion 2018 | searching for the new luxury is made possible by the municipality of Arnhem, province of Gelderland and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.