ASOS partners with London College of Fashion for pilot course

ASOS has announced that it is piloting a training programme on circular fashion for its designers, in partnership with London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF).

Last year, the online retailer pledged to deliver the training as part of its 2020 Circular Fashion Commitments, which were signed at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in conjunction with Global Fashion Agenda. The bespoke course created by CSF will engage ASOS designers in circular design techniques and best-practice, meaning products can be designed in a way that considers their whole lifecycle.

As part of the programme’s initial pilot, which starts this month, 15 members of the ASOS design team will progress through a series of half-day workshops, discussions and drop-in sessions, where they will explore concepts, case studies and practical applications of circular design with researchers and designers from the CSF team.

The results of the pilot will then be used to refine training and resources on circularity across ASOS’ design staff on an ongoing basis.

Vanessa Spence, design director at ASOS, said: “With this pilot we’re making sure our designers have the knowledge and skills they need to put sustainability and circularity into practice. It’s a vital step on our journey to designing products with circularity in mind right from the start, which will ensure that they are made responsibly, remain in use for as long as possible once they’re sold, and don’t cause unnecessary waste at the end of their lives.”

Dilys Williams, director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and professor of fashion design for sustainability at London College of Fashion, UAL added: “It’s vitally important that dynamic and forward-thinking companies such as ASOS innovate from a critically-informed perspective. Good design involves understanding and valuing all elements that come together in making and enjoying fashion.

“We are delighted to be working with ASOS, whose bold commitments continue to lead the way in sustainability, from sourcing and design for circularity to their collaborative approach, which in turn is improving sustainability across the fashion industry.”