Sociocultural Sustainability and Fashion Culture

This course is designed for Bachelor and Master’s level students or professionals in the fields of fashion, textiles, design, or related areas. A basic understanding of fashion systems, sustainability, and/or cultural studies is recommended. The course does not require theoretical knowledge, but students should be prepared to engage critically with social and cultural concepts in the context of fashion.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain the concept of fashion culture and its significance as a form of social and cultural expression.
• Identify key sociocultural issues related to fashion, including identity, representation, equity, and heritage.
• Describe the principles of social and cultural sustainability within the context of fashion and textile systems.
• Critically analyse the role of fashion in both reproducing and challenging societal norms and power structures.
• Reflect on their own fashion consumption, cultural context and possible design practice using sustainability and cultural awareness frameworks.

Sociocultural sustainability in fashion refers to practices that preserve, respect, and enhance the social and cultural dimensions of human life through fashion. It goes beyond environmental and economic aspects by focusing on how fashion impacts fairness, communities, traditions, identities, and well-being. Sociocultural sustainability in fashion asks not only how garments are made and what they are made from, but also who they affect, whose voices are heard, and what values are upheld. It seeks a fashion system that supports cultural diversity, social justice, and human dignity.

This course introduces you to the cultural and social meanings of fashion and the ways in which fashion shapes everyday life. You will learn how fashion connects to issues like human rights, representation, and heritage, and how these relate to broader questions of sustainability. The course also encourages you to think critically about how fashion influences – and is influenced by – societal norms, power, and global systems.

Through readings, visual materials, and interactive activities, you will engage with both theoretical perspectives and real-world examples of the sociocultural dimensions of fashion as well as reflect on your own relationship to fashion practices. By the end of the course, you will be able to explain the concept of fashion culture, identify key sociocultural issues, and understand how fashion can support a more just, and culturally respectful future.