V&A Talk Program: Accelerating Positive Change through Collaborations in the Creative Landscape

How can the cross-pollination of creative industries and leading organisations challenge the status quo, accelerate sustainability efforts, and build new business models to promote change?

This talk explores the power of collaboration between leading fashion organizations and sustainable innovators, and how these collaborations can accelerate positive change. Through the cross-pollination of resources and expertise, fashion is embracing new business models and focus areas that challenge the status quo, influence and provoke consumer habits, and demand legislative change.

Moderator:

Emily Chan, Senior Sustainability Editor & Acting Executive Fashion News and Features Editor, British Vogue

Emily Chan is the Senior Sustainability & FeaturesEditor at British Vogue and covers all things related to sustainability in fashion and beyond, from the designers pushing for change to the climate activists we should be paying attention to.

Panelists:

Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO, Copenhagen Fashion Week

Following Thorsmark’s appointment as CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week in 2018 came her announcement to transition the event into a pioneering industry platform and organisation with the capacity to further the industry’s sustainability potential. In January 2020, Thorsmark launched the ambitious three-year action plan “Reinventing Copenhagen Fashion Week” presenting an innovative system of minimum sustainability requirements for all brands on the official show schedule. The system successfully came into effect in 2023, making Copenhagen Fashion Week the first and only fashion week worldwide to introduce a mandatory set of sustainability requirements. In 2022, Thorsmark was inaugurated into The BoF 500, the definitive professional index of the people shaping the $2.4 trillion fashion industry. Prior to joining Copenhagen Fashion Week, Thorsmark held the position of Global Fashion Agenda’s Communication Director for two years, following a six-year tenure at the Danish Fashion Institute.

Yvie Hutton, Director of Membership & Designer Relations, British Fashion Council

Yvie is currently Director of Membership & Designer Relations at the British Fashion Council, responsible for the Membership programme, curation of London Fashion Week and supporting designers through initiatives funded by the BFC Foundation; New Gen, Fashion Trust, Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, and theGQ Designer Fashion Fund. Prior to this she ran her consultancy which included working for the world-renowned award-winning session stylist Sam McKnight on brand, distribution, and product devolvement. Launching ranges in 10 countries and winning 6 awards all in the first year of trading. Before that she spent 11 years as Managing Director of Jonathan Saunders, a luxury fashion brand where she was responsible for growth strategy and partnerships.Showing in both London and NewYork fashion weeks, winning many accolades including theVogue Designer Fashion Fund in 2012.

Omoyemi Akerele, Founder & CEO, Lagos Fashion Week & Style House Files

Omoyemi Akerele is the founder and CEO of Lagos Fashion Week and Style House Files, playing a pivotal role in shaping the African fashion industry for over two decades. Her work focuses on strengthening the textile and apparel ecosystem by creating opportunities for brands, businesses, and communities to grow sustainably. Through Lagos Fashion Week, she has built more than just a platform for showcasing talent; she has driven industry wide advocacy, created capacity-building programs, and facilitated access to new markets. Initiatives like SHF Trains, Woven Threads, and Green Access support emerging talent, promote sustainability, and foster innovation across the value chain. A strong advocate for sustainability and the circular economy, she works to embed responsible business practices into fashion’s future, championing solutions that prioritise environmental stewardship, ethical production, and economic inclusion.