Micro Utopias

This talk presents Dr Rissanen's current research and teaching in sustainability in fashion, focusing on design for micro-utopias in a fashion systems context. A new economic context for fashion is proposed, building on economists Manfred Max-Neef and Kate Raworth: fashion is reimagined boldly within a just society on a flourishing planet. Rissanen asks: what would fashion be like as a system if its underlying rationale were the fulfillment of fundamental human needs? Given the urgent need for profound systems change, this talk has a bold goal: to empower and enable the audience to imagine unthinkable yet actionable futures, as creators, as fashion users and as citizens.