Textile Futures: Register for the Virtual Cotsen Textile Traces Global Roundtable

Join us online for a free roundtable hosted by the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Center on November 6-7, featuring an impressive array of scholars, designers, and cultural practitioners. This event aims to delve into innovative perspectives on the future of textile production and consumption. By examining both time-honored traditions and the latest technological advancements, discussions will focus on forging sustainable fashion practices and safeguarding textile heritage.

The Cotsen Textile Traces Study Center at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum boasts one of the world’s prominent textile study collections, amassed by the late Lloyd Cotsen. This collection contains approximately 4,000 fragments from various cultures, representing a timeline that spans from ancient times to modern-day.

This colloquium invites all interested individuals to attend without charge.

For more information and to register, please visit museum.gwu.edu/textile-futures.

Thursday, November 6, 10am–1 pm

Panel 1: Historical Techniques, Contemporary Uses

• Source Material: Learning from Responsible Fashion
  (Katrina Orsini, programs associate for academic engagement) 

• Kumihimo Braiding: Bridging Tradition and Innovation
  (Makiko Tada, artist and braiding specialist, Japan)  

• Reimagining Strip Cloth with Upcycled Denim
  (Nkwo Onwuka, designer and founder of NKWO Design, Nigeria)  

Panel 2: Emerging Materials and Technologies

• Revitalizing Fibers from Textile Waste with Renewables
  (Abhishek Bansal, head of sustainability at Arvind Limited, India) 

• Exploring E-Textiles
  (Stephen Beeby, professor of Electronic Systems & Device at the University of Southampton, England)

• Assessing the Feasibility of Bio Materials in Fashion Design
  (Charlotte McCurdy, designer, researcher, and educator at Stanford University, California)

Friday, November 7, 10am–12pm

Panel 1: Heritage and Change

• Embroidery, Craft Heritage, and Women’s Empowerment
  (Karishma Swali, creative director of Chanakya International and founder of the Chanakya School of Craft, India)

• Conscious Velvet: Traditional Techniques Reimagined by Tiziano Guardini and Bevilacqua
  (Tiziano Guardini, conscious creative director and co-founder of Guardini Ciuffreda Studio, Italy )

• Timelessness: Blending Textile Heritage with New Concepts and Experiments
  (Hector Manuel Meneses Lozano, director of the Textile Museum of Oaxaca, Mexico)