In this episode you meet Ben Barry - fashion educator, designer-researcher and academic leader who is devoted to equity, inclusion and social justice in fashion education and the fashion industry.

Ben Barry has been described as an ‘idea machine’ whose work has been lauded as ‘positive, determined action to undo stereotypes and redefine society's idea of beauty. He is Dean and Associate Professor of Equity and Inclusion in the School of Fashion – at Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Fashion is a great teacher talks to him about unpicking his suit jackets and inherent notions of masculinity, transformative educational experiences and using ones’ body to navigate the complexities of institutional change. Finding liberatory pockets and fashion utopia in everyday clothing. And how it all started with him playing in his grandmother’s closet.

Sound editor: Moritz Bailly
Music by: Johannes von Weizsäcker
Graphic by: Studio Regular

This episode brings you ‘Decolonising Decolonisation!/ A Decolonizar la Decolonización!'– the bi-lingual spoken part of the performance Provocation by Colectivo Malvestidas, at De-Fashioning Education – A Critical Thinking and Making Conference in Berlin – The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education 2023.

Colectivo Malvestidas was formed in 2016 in Santiago, Chile, by Loreto Martínez (theatre designer, curator and creative producer) and Tamara Poblete (researcher in fashion and dress, curator and cultural manager). The two began to intertwine their interests in dress as a political device. They did this by situating themselves in Latin America and embracing critical theory, feminisms and decolonial practice. They decided to name themselves Colectivo Malvestidas (Poorly dressed Collective) with a focus on the aesthetic and the parodic. Since then, they have developed several projects committed to making visible and developing disruptive and counter-hegemonic discourses in fashion and dress.

Editors: Franziska Schreiber & Renate Stauss
Sound editor: Moritz Bailly
Music by: Johannes von Weizsäcker
Graphic by: Studio Regular

This episode brings you ‘De-Fashion: From Fossil Fuel Fashion to a Fashion Pluriverse’ – the Provocation by Sandra Niessen, at The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education 2023: De-Fashioning Education – A Critical Thinking and Making Conference in Berlin.

Sandra Niessen is an anthropologist and activist who WE interviewed in September 2023 on her perspective of De-Fashion, which informed the conference. Join us now for her passionate provocation in Berlin, her call to action for a fossil-free fashion industry and an understanding of fashion that prioritizes cultural diversity, rejects exploitative practices, and fosters a pluriverse of fashion expressions.

Editors: Franziska Schreiber & Renate Stauss

Sound editor: Moritz Bailly

Music by: Johannes von Weizsäcker

Graphic by: Studio Regular