• London College of Fashion logo

Fashion Values: Society

Examine the relationship between fashion and society, using fashion activism to challenge social injustice.

2,214 enrolled on this course

Alisa Ruzavina's Love Bomb collection at UAL’s Parade for Climate Justice, photographed by Ana Blumenkron.

Fashion Values: Society

2,214 enrolled on this course

  • 4 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Open level

Find out more about how to join this course

Understand the links between fashion and society through a range of perspectives

Fashion and society are deeply intertwined through everyday actions, behaviours and business models, and can be both empowering and exploitative.

On this four-week course from London College of Fashion, you’ll explore how fashion can paradoxically be a force for societal good, creating agency, collaboration, dignity and distinction between people, or a cause and perpetuator of injustice.

Social injustice in and through fashion is experienced widely and can perpetuate inequality and exploitation. By the end of this course you’ll understand how activism can be used to challenge this and be inspired by intersectional perspectives from activists around the world, learning from historical and contemporary case studies and resources.

You’ll explore the process of change in relation to fashion and society, exploring various models that provide ways of thinking, feeling or working towards change. You’ll learn about where power lies to create change and to challenge social injustice in fashion. You’ll examine many approaches to and models of activism, as well as the importance of resilience.

Use design thinking to develop fashion activities and behaviours that contribute to social justice

You’ll be supported through the design thinking process to define a specific problem and generate ideas in response to the question: ‘How will we use fashion activism to challenge social injustice?’

Respond to sustainability challenges with London College of Fashion

This course is led by fashion and sustainability experts from Centre for Sustainable Fashion and shares knowledge from world-leading fashion practitioners and researchers.

With over 85,000 learners on our FutureLearn courses to date, you’ll gain valuable insights from fellow fashion and sustainability changemakers worldwide.

Skip to 0 minutes and 3 seconds Welcome to Fashion Values A new portfolio of courses brought to you by Centre for Sustainable Fashion. There’s never been a more important role for fashion than in our current times. It can be both joyful as an expression of who we are a contributor to livelihoods, cultures, societies and economies. It is also a destroyer of dignity lives cultures and the only true economy, nature’s wealth. Fashion is many different activities and businesses large and small doing different things so everyone who engages with this is an active part of the fashion system.

Skip to 0 minutes and 39 seconds Anyone who engages can make changes to that system and the more that we recognize and elevate our values in action both professionally and personally and the more that we call out destructive practices the closer that we can get to a world that we can really all thrive in. Time is short. The evidence is starkly apparent the climate emergency is recognized by governments and organizations around the world. Social injustice is also starkly apparent. Racism, gender and other social inequalities must be stopped. We need to develop skills and capabilities for deep change. This is what these courses seek to develop with you

Skip to 1 minute and 26 seconds They start with a provocation, a new lens through which you can re-imagine what a thriving system might look like. We are seeking to give you a thirst for knowledge about fashion in the context of our times. Not to give you answers to every question that you have. We are very keen to share with you what we know what we’ve learned but there’s no crystal ball for any of us to look into. It’s our ambition to give you a sense both of what is but also a sense of what isn’t yet, but could be.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Fashion and Society

    • Introductions

      Welcome to the course! This set of steps will give you an idea of how the course works and what you will cover over the next four weeks.

    • Fashion and Society

      In this part we will look into the intricacies of fashion's connection to society.

    • Design Thinking Challenge

      In this set of steps, we will take time to listen, learn and reflect. We will draw on the resources shared and undertake an exercise to empathise with people and nature.

    • Summing Up and Looking to Next Week

      Reflect on what you have learned so far in Fashion Values: Society.

  • Week 2

    Social Justice, Power and Change

    • Introductions

      Welcome to week 2! This week we will reflect more deeply on the themes introduced in week 1, as well as on where the power lies to create change.

    • Social Injustice in Focus

      In this set of steps, we will hear from people with experience of injustice across fashion, as well as the work they are undertaking to address these injustices.

    • Power and Change

      In this set of steps, we will look at the process of change in relation to fashion. We will explore various models that provide ways of thinking, feeling or working towards change.

    • Design Thinking Challenge

      The next stage of the Design Thinking Challenge is ‘Define’. This is where we can analyse the data and observations so far in order to better define and personalise the task you wish to explore over the remainder of this course.

    • Summing Up and Looking to Next Week

      Reflect on what you have learned so far in Fashion Values: Society.

  • Week 3

    Activism and Fashion

    • Introductions

      Welcome to week 3!

    • Introduction to Activism

      This week we will look more deeply at activism, social justice and fashion from different global perspectives and historical reference points.

    • Forms of Activism

      In this set of steps we will look at various forms of activism, including, but not limited to, social media, campaigns, design, art and craft.

    • You and Activism

      In this section we will look at some other considerations in relation to activism.

    • Design Thinking Challenge

      The next stage of the Design Thinking Challenge is ‘Ideate’. This is where you will generate ideas to respond to your problem statements.

    • Summing Up and Looking to Next Week

      Reflect on what you have learned so far in Fashion Values: Society.

  • Week 4

    Using Fashion Activism to Challenge Social Injustice

    • Introductions

      Welcome to week 4!

    • Design Thinking Challenge

      The next stage of the Design Thinking Challenge is ‘Prototype’. This is where we will prototype our refined idea from last week, bringing it to life.

    • End of Course

      Congratulations! You have made it to the end of Fashion Values: Society.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify social injustice in fashion from intersectional perspectives
  • Explore ideas of power and change
  • Engage with historical and contemporary fashion activism that challenges social injustice in fashion
  • Practice design thinking to develop, prototype, evaluate and communicate fashion activism that can challenge social injustice

Who is the course for?

This course will empower learners with the tools to address challenges facing fashion today.

This includes students, sustainability professionals, fashion and business professionals, educators, designers, strategists, and communicators.

Who will you learn with?

Professor Dilys Williams FRSA is Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion, a University of the Arts Research Centre based at London College of Fashion.

Head of Education (Sustainability) at Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion

Education Project Coordinator at Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion

Who developed the course?

London College of Fashion

London College of Fashion, UAL is a world leader in fashion design, media and business education. We have been nurturing creative talent for over a century, offering courses in all things fashion.

Ways to learn

Buy this course

Subscribe & save

Limited access

Choose the best way to learn for you!

$134/one-off payment

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Free

Fulfill your current learning needDevelop skills to further your careerSample the course materials
Access to this courseticktick

Access expires 26 Apr 2024

Access to 1,000+ coursescrosstickcross
Learn at your own paceticktickcross
Discuss your learning in commentstickticktick
Certificate when you're eligiblePrinted and digitalDigital onlycross
Continue & Upgrade

Cancel for free anytime

Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$134/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 26 Apr 2024

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

Learner reviews

Learner reviews cannot be loaded due to your cookie settings. Please and refresh the page to view this content.

Do you know someone who'd love this course? Tell them about it...

You can use the hashtag #fashionvalues to talk about this course on social media.