Bespoke Textile Brand KOUA STUDIO CEO Leads Seminar

The London-based bespoke, handmade textile brand, KOUA STUDIO, which crafts exquisite artisan fabrics for fashion and interiors, is spreading its message of sustainability ever further afield. The brand’s CEO, Erika Alvarez was invited to speak at Oslo’s Metropolitan University this week as a guest lecturer for fashion design students.

Erika’s presentation highlighted KOUA STUDIO’s sustainable impact, both socially and environmentally, and was delivered to the cohort of students as part of their “Draping and Moulage” module. In addition to understanding more about different materials, the seminar helped students to understand the positive impact of using KOUA STUDIO’s sustainable, artisan-crafted textiles can have for fashion businesses.

She said, “It’s an honour for me to be invited to share my company’s sustainability efforts with OsloMet’s fashion design students. KOUA STUDIO not only provides textiles, but we are also committed to and believe in a systematic change where designers play an important role. For this to be the case, today’s emerging designers need to understand how they can collaborate with indigenous communities and all the benefits of using socially and environmentally sustainable textiles, like those of KOUA STUDIO, to increase their value of their future fashion brands.”

As the founder of KOUA Studio, Erika is uniquely positioned to share her insight into sustainability in the textile and fashion industry. KOUA STUDIO’S organic and recycled textiles are produced by indigenous communities in her native Mexico. They are free from pesticides and harsh chemicals and are made with low energy involved, instead being produced using ancestral techniques passed down from generation to generation.

Throughout the seminar, students were able to gain further insight into how systematic change can happen within the fashion industry – and the role they can plan. As the designers of the future, this means using indigenous textiles in their collections in a respectful and collaborative way. The lecture also considered the role of consumers, who need to demand transparency around the source of the materials and the production journey their clothes undertake.

Finally, the role of artisans was explored along with the importance of a realistic pricing structure, to help elevate craft prices that have been underestimated for years.

The KOUA Studio leader recently completed the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s “Women Leading Change: Shaping our Future” course. She is committed to championing and empowering artisans to contribute to closing the gender gap which still exists in many sectors of the industry.

Oslo Metropolitan’s Associate Professor of the Fashion and Society programme, Siv So Hee Steinaa expressed her gratitude for the lecture and said it was useful for her students to understand the benefits that KOUA textiles bring from both a sustainability and business mindset. Many students indicated how inspirational the seminar was and indicated their desire to embrace Norwegian crafts and traditions to use in their own fashion items moving forwards.

For more information on KOUA STUDIO, its work with artisans and its vision for sustainability in fashion, visit: www.kouastudio.com or download the Oslo Met video here: https://we.tl/t-6RlPW1AwL1