Fashion for Good Museum Unveils Its Final Exhibition, Plans Expanded Coworking Space
For its grand finale exhibition, the Fashion for Good museum is playing up circularity with the aptly named “What Goes Around Comes Around” show.
On view through June 4, the exhibition will be the last in-person one for the museum, which will be closing its doors to take a more virtual, and action-oriented, approach. In the meantime, visitors can learn about pioneering artists, innovators and designers who are trying to put the brakes on the fashion industry’s excessive waste and environmentally harmful practices. The “What Goes Around Comes Around” show (which is not affiliated with the resale retailer with a similar name) is meant to be the “final call to collective action” for the museum.
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Describing the industry as being trapped in a “take-make-waste” cycle, the museum aims to remind people the importance and ability of continually reusing materials. And this system has a growing negative impact on people and the planet. In Europe, the average consumer is responsible for 15 kilos of textile waste a year and that figure is increasing.
All of the museum’s collections, tools and objects will be made available through a free, open-access digital platform on the FFG website for continued use. That material is geared for educators, the cultural sector and the wider public. Following the museum’s June 5 closing, it will evolve into an expanded coworking space to cultivate stronger alliances among organizations that are driving forward on the same path. That set-up is meant to create more collaboration in the industry and offer flexible spaces for new tenants.
Asked about the future of the museum’s employees, public relations partner Anne-Ro Klevant Groen said via email Monday, “We are discussing with each team member individually what their personal ambitions are, and where relevant, [we] are looking for suitable roles in the Fashion for Good organization or in our wider network. We are incredibly proud of them and their work over the last five years. It’s our utmost priority to make sure that we best support them during this transition period.”
For “What Goes Around Comes Around,” curator Sophie Jager-van Duren said the show features new work by local artists through the design collectives Atelier Reservé and The Patchwork Family. Well-known designer names like Botter, Ronald van der Kemp, Marga Weimans, Yuima Nakazato and Nicole McLaughlin are also in the mix There are also examples of innovations and technologies, thanks to Living Ink, Mirum, Altmat and Biophilica.
Fashion for Good’s programs have the support of numerous industry companies including founding partner Laudes Foundation, cofounder William McDonough and corporate partners Adidas, Bestseller, Burberry, C&A, Chanel, Inditex, Kering, Levi Strauss & Co., Otto Group, Patagonia, PVH Corp., Reformation, Target and Zalando, and affiliate and regional partners Arvind Ltd., Birla Cellulose, Norrøna, Pangaia, Paradise Textiles, Shahi Exports, Teijin Frontier, Vivobarefoot, Welspun and W. L. Gore & Associates.
The FFG partner base consists of more than 25 innovative leaders from brands, retailers and manufacturers that represent 12 percent of the industry. Connecting innovators, brands, manufacturers and financiers has led to more than 400 implementation cases and 15 collaborative projects related to materials, processing, chemical recycling and transparency, among other areas.
Since opening to the public in 2018 the Amsterdam outpost has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors and has showcased 13 exhibitions about biomaterials. Highlighting the interest in sustainability among aspiring designers and creatives, more than 25 percent of the museum’s base has been students.
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