Friday 6 June
10:30 – 13:00
The Studio
Join leading designers and experts to explore how circular design is shaping the future of fashion.
Join us to see how designers and start-ups are channeling their creativity to re-think traditional design systems and innovate the craft of making, as a designer label or larger brand. Through a series of ‘Sofa Stories’ with experts and professionals in their field, we will explore topics such as Circular Design, Social and Ethical Practice and consider how we can produce fabrics more regeneratively. Book your slot for the Past and Future Fabrics session here.
With the growing awareness of waste in the fashion industry, more designers are adopting circular design principles, integrating sustainable practices into their creative processes. This event brings together key professionals across fashion and textiles to explore the significance of circular design, its challenges and its future role in shaping the industry.
Facilitated by Laetitia Forst, circular design specialist from UAL and Shailja Dube from Institute for Positive Fashion at the British Fashion Council, the session will focus on how designers and brands are navigating circular design. From extending garment life and reducing waste to creating regenerative systems and materials. Attendees will learn about the importance of designing with longevity, material cyclability and how these approaches contribute to a more sustainable and resilient fashion industry.
Throughout the session, attendees will engage in discussions around real-world applications of circular design, exploring practical steps for adopting circular practices within both small-scale and large-scale operations. The event will also feature case studies and insights from leading designer, Patrick McDowell and sustainability experts and designers from Nobody’s Child, showcasing actionable frameworks and solutions for scaling circular design principles.
By the end of the session, participants will have gained valuable insights into how they can apply circular design principles in their own work, as well as how to prepare for the future of fashion that embraces sustainability and regeneration at its core.
Shailja Dubé, Institute of Positive Fashion Lead, British Fashion Council
Shailja is IPF Lead at the BFC, responsible for the strategy and delivery of the BFC’s commitment on climate action. She also leads the Circular Fashion Ecosystem Project; a multi-year endeavor to move the UK to a circular fashion economy by 2030. Prior to the BFC, Shailja was Responsible Retail Lead at Accenture where she focused on the intersection of sustainability and business in the fashion and wider retail sectors. With over 20 years’ professional experience, she has held business strategy, digital transformation management, market growth, and social policy roles.
Laetitia Forst, University of the Arts London
Laetitia Forst is a circular textile design researcher at the University of the Arts London (UAL). She holds a master’s degree in textile design from ENSAD Paris, and a PhD on the subject of design for disassembly from UAL. Her work engages multidisciplinary collaborations, bridging the gap between material technology and design to support a shift to circularity in industry.
Philly Grogan, Nobody’s Child
Philly heads up Sustainability at Nobody’s Child, overseeing the London-based label’s delivery on topics including circularity, supply chain, and preferred materials. Originally from a design background, a longstanding curiosity of the impact of materials directs her work and she finds great enjoyment developing solutions mitigate the industry’s environmental and social impact through innovative, alternative, and regenerative processes. She has spoken about fashion sustainability at UK and EU parliament and has been featured in publications including Vogue, the BBC, the Guardian, and many others. Philly holds MA and MDes degrees for fashion sustainability and spent over a year researching in South Asia, visiting a range of producers, from tiny, rural natural dyers and hand weavers to huge industrial manufacturers making garments for global fashion brands.
Patrick McDowell
Patrick McDowell studied at Central Saint Martins and then went on to work at Burberry before launching their eponymous label at London Fashion Week in 2018, driven by a vision of doing business differently—celebrating creativity, sustainable craftsmanship, and circular design practices. Since then, McDowell has pioneered their own made to order business, designed and made in London from kinder materials. Offering redesign and repair services on all of their pieces McDowell aims to refocus the industry through a circular lens.
McDowell believes in the power of education and the importance of passing knowledge, mentoring students as a Global Ambassador for Graduate Fashion Week and establishing scholarships and internships for students at Central Saint Martins.Recognised for their commitment to helping reshape the future of the fashion industry, McDowell was named to the 2025 Forbes Europe 30 Under 30 list. They have spoken about their work in sustainable fashion at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, both in 2022 and 2024, advocating for a reimagined, environmentally responsible future
“Sustainability is at the core of everything Patrick does, striving to reinvent luxury through a sustainable mindset.” — Anna Wintour, Vogue.
