From Los Angeles to Phoenix, the Responsible Fashion Series 2025 (RFS 2025) gathered researchers, designers, and innovators to explore how sustainability, technology, and education can redefine the future of fashion. This international initiative promotes responsible approaches to fashion studies and has become a leading platform for dialogue across the global fashion community.
This year’s edition focused on the intersections of biodesign, sustainability, and emerging technologies, addressing themes such as circular economy models, smart textiles, biodegradable materials, and the ethical use of digital tools and AI in fashion. Participants also visited a sustainable cotton farm south of Los Angeles, learning about cleaner cotton practices and local manufacturing initiatives that demonstrate how circularity can begin at the source. The event showcased the West Coast of the United States as a hub for innovative sustainable practices and highlighted the region’s leadership in implementing new legislation and research in circularity systems for the fashion and textile industries.
Just Fashion was represented by Prof. Annick Schramme – the coordinator of the Just Fashion project – and Anna-Lena Müller (both from the University of Antwerp), who contributed to two key sessions: the panel “Governmental and Non-Governmental Frameworks”, and the panel discussion “Fashion and Legal Frameworks: Circular Textile Legislation in Europe and the USA”. These sessions highlighted the essential role of policy frameworks, cross-sector collaboration, and international legislation in accelerating a just and sustainable transition of the fashion and textile industries.
The discussions during RFS 2025 emphasized the transformative potential of combining technological innovation with sustainable and circular design approaches. Participants explored a wide range of topics, including biotechnologies for biodegradable and regenerative textiles, smart textiles enhancing user experience, circular business models to reduce waste, and the ethical implications of AI and digital tools in fashion. Case studies and cross-disciplinary collaborations illustrated how research, education, and industry practice can come together to drive sustainable innovation in fashion.
The Responsible Fashion Series (RFS) is an initiative originally founded by Prof. Ian King – professor of Aesthetics & Management at the Istituto Marangoni in London. He is the thought leader behind the organisation of RFS Fashion Colloquia across the world for more than a decade. With past editions held in Jaipur, Shanghai, Arnhem, Milan, Rome, São Paulo, and Antwerp, the RFS continues to foster critical reflection on how fashion can evolve responsibly in an era of rapid technological change.
