Highlights From The Sustainable Fashion Workshop In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Fashion Africa 254 (FA254) together with the German International Cooperation (GIZ) are working on discovering and promoting the best Ethiopian designers for a better sustainable future through the project Sustainable African Fashion: Promoting Ethiopian Fashion Designers. The project’s aim is to have the most talented designers travel to Germany for the Berlin Fashion Week in July 2018 and also exhibit at the Green Show Room. Recently as part of the project, Fa254 and GIZ held a workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia headlined by Karen Jessen fashion designer of Berlin-based brand Benu Benu and Waridi Schrobsdorff, founder of Fa254.

During this time, various issues were tackled including the current fashion design and production processes, introduction to key issues surrounding sustainability and the opportunities designers have to reduce negative environmental and social impacts along a garment’s lifecycle (Design, production, distribution, use, end-of-life). Designers were also given a glimpse into the variety of ways in which sustainable strategies can be integrated into the design and production process. With practical exercises, the workshop worked as a tool for assisting the attending designers in rethinking their design practices and inspiring approaches to sustainability. In the end, each designer received individual support and had their personal design and production places visited by Karen and Waridi. See the pictures below of some of the moments from the workshop.