Call for Participation
The De-Fashion Test Kitchen – Translating Degrowth into Action
a student think and make tank accompanying  “De-Fashioning Education - A critical thinking and making conference" (The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education 2023 X Fashioning Education)
Organized and facilitated by Isabell Schnalle and Nina Birri and a range of collaborators
English, 2 SWS, 2 ECTS for Studium Generale

When? Friday 15.9.2023 and Saturday 16.9.2023 from 9 until 18 h
Where? Haus Bastian: Am Kupfergraben 10, 10117 Berlin
For whom? Students and recent graduates whose studies and work revolve around fashion and textiles and who are on the ´journey towards socio-ecological change in the field of fashion

REGISTRATION is required until 30.6.2023: Register here or download Call for participation here.
Here you can DOWNLOAD the detailed pdf!

Using the impulses of the De-Fashioning Education Conference as a framework, the Test Kitchen is a space for collective reflection, experimentation, action and to explore possibilities of Degrowth in our own fashion and textile practices.
The perspectives of young fashion practitioners (as change agents) plays a crucial role in the pursuit of de-fashioning education and fashion practice. Join us for this two-day workshop to learn about de-growth concepts and practices, reflect on them within the context of your work and translate them into your own practice within the context of the group. Be part of the de-fashion movement that carries fashion towards social and ecological justice!!
Through a series of workshops we will explore Degrowth from a wide range of perspectives and positions and interlink these with topics such as local production, activism, the role of care, our approach to the human and non-human environment, and our role as designers within a global fashion system.

How does Degrowth translate into designing, thinking and working in fashion practice?
What is the relationship between my own work and the Degrowth movement? What does a De-Fashion Ecosystem look like? How is it organized and by whom?
How do I define my own role in relation to the de-fashion movement?
What do de-fashion learning spaces and cultures look like? (environments space)

Requirements for the ungraded Studium-Generale Credits (2 ECTS):
- Active participation in the two days,
- Performing and documenting a small(!) Degrowth Action after the conference such as organizing a repair evening with friends, analyzing your closet, an activist performance, manifesting de-growth values in a series of posters, etc. 
- (developing this Degrowth action is part of the test kitchen)

Those who are not registered as students at any university in Berlin or the Federal Republic of Germany can become guest auditors to get credits. Please find the information sheet  here. Please find the application form for guest auditors here. If you have any inquiries, please contact schnalle.isabell_ @gmail.com or ninaolivabirri_ @gmail.com.

Isabell Schnalle is a transformation and fashion designer with a background in tailoring who works at the intersection of design research, activism and education. She is currently researching the transformative potential of narratives as a cultural tool for social change to implement climate justice education in art and design schools. Since 2020 she has taught in the field of transformative and climate justice education. In 2022, she co-founded the art collective Threads and Tits, which is currently working with The Yes Men and the Clean Cloth Campaign for fair working conditions for textile workers through the means of action art.

Nina Birri is a designer with a background in fashion design, business administration and user research. She is currently exploring the notion of novelty in times of material scarcity in the context of upcycling discarded materials. Sociological concepts of identity and gender influence her work as well as design methods and practices. In her freelance work, Nina Birri regularly empowers teams to go through design processes themselves and integrate design methods into their everyday lives. As part of the Berlin Start Up scholarship, she founded her design studio Bitter, reclaiming discarded clothes and textiles to create unique but serially produced garments for everyday wear.