1 CHAPTER IN ‘FASHION DESIGN FOR THE CURIOUS: WHY STUDY FASHION DESIGN’, EDITED BY KISHOR VAIDYA, PHD, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA, 2015 Holistic Fashion Design: My INNER/OUTER Journey - Elin Lindquist’s Acceptance Speech for the Noble Peace Prize in 2030 Rebecca Earley 1 and Clara Vuletich 2 Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London Key words: Future fashion design, sustainability, mindsets, skills, social enterprise, material innovation, activism Preface Elin Lindquist is a fictional Swedish character created by the authors, to illustrate how current research and theory is working towards developing a fashion industry of the future that is more sustainable - from a material, technical, social and policy perspective. This chapter has been written as if Elin has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for her contribution to design, resource use, material innovation, and evolving new value systems - through her pioneering work in fashion. The speech is being given at a school in Stockholm, to students between the ages of 16- 18, and reflects upon the various phases of her career. Elin is being recognised for the way in which she strategically built her knowledge and skillset - and her fashion label ‘’INNER/OUTER’ - over a fifteen year period. Her work as a fashion designer has had a profound effect on the industry through her approach to the circular economy; her experimentation with materials, process, technology and systems design; her empathy and progressive social vision for production workers; and her political activism. Although she is a fictitious character, everything the authors say she has achieved is technically possible, and is based on current academic or industry research. Much of the insight has come about through the authors’ involvement with the Mistra Future Fashion research consortium in Sweden (www.mistrafuturefashion.com), which brings designers together with scientists to find sustainable and economic solutions for the fashion industry of the future. Introduction: An Education “Thank you for coming here today to listen to my story. I want to talk to you about what fashion can do for the world. How as a fashion designer and a consumer of fashion, we can all contribute to a better planet. “I am a fashion designer who loves this amazing world, and the people on it. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be an artist or a designer – I was always drawing, making things and dressing up – and throughout my school years I often tried to use creativity to express ideas. I was fortunate as I went to a school that encouraged students to learn about being eco citizens. This included energy saving behaviors (I was a ‘light monitor’ – always telling the teachers to switch off unnecessary lights to save power!); participating in recycling projects with plastics, paper, and clothing; healthy eating, and being kind to one another. We were introduced to mindfulness, and were encouraged to use daily meditation as a way to stop us getting stressed around exam time. So, for me, I think the ‘INNER/OUTER’ journey began way back then, in a school just like yours. “Later, I decided to study textile design in England, as I was 19 and wanted to leave home and see the world. I was lucky to get onto the BA Textiles course at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, and study in London for my undergraduate degree. UAL is the largest arts and design university in Europe, offering an unrivalled range of subjects and courses. London provides the university