Threads of Change

Delving into the fabric of our changing fashion landscape. According to the British Fashion Council, there are enough clothes on the planet right now to dress the next six generations of the human race.

Robert Elms leads a phenomenal line-up of panellists as they explore the remarkable 9.6% surge in second-hand fashion sales and witnessing the exponential 8.3% growth of the fast fashion industry in just a year. What does this say about today’s society? And are we too late to shift the tide forever?

The Host:

Robert Elms: Robert Elms is a journalist, author, and broadcaster. He has been presenting the Robert Elms Show on BBC Radio London for more than eighteen years. Covering all aspects of life in the Capital, the programme has won three Sony awards and developed a dedicated following.

The Panellists:

Maria Chenoweth: For over 30 years, Maria Chenoweth’s career has been all about being an advocate of the power and purpose of wearing and shopping second-hand and is a leading spokesperson for charity retail. As CEO of the charity retailer Traid, Maria drives the organisation’s vision of a unique proposition focused on offering an alternative to buying new clothes and funding global projects to improve the garment industry.

Celia Pym: London-based artist Celia Pym has been mending clothing and textiles since 2007. Her work has recently been exhibited in Cheongju Craft Biennale, Korea and ‘Connect. Reveal. Conceal’. Make Hauser & Wirth, London. Pym is an Associate Lecturer in Textiles at the Royal College of Art and published her first book, ‘On Mending: Stories of Damage and Repair’ in 2023.

More panellists coming soon...