The Geography of Fashion Design Education and the Involvement of Polish Educational Institutions in the Sustainability Discourse

The attainment of sustainability goals with respect to the fashion market requires a paradigmatic change in terms of the content and the forms of the education of professionals involved in all stages of the creation of garments, from the design to the production phase, with respect to both mass-produced, ready-to-wear clothing and more craft-oriented, smaller scale or made-to-measure garments. Moreover, the needs in the field of fashion education are currently undergoing a dramatic change taking into account the fact that more sustainable approaches to fashion accentuate broader than economic values as a driving force behind fashion production and call for basing fashion education on more reflexive learning. Such transformation, spanning from ethical and sustainable design, emphasising a zero-waste approach or experimentation with new textiles to design for sustainability, is key not only with regard to the change in the approaches and mindsets of professionals present in the fashion market but also to their subsequent potential impact on consumer choices and attitudes. This poses a huge challenge as not every educational institution training future designers or garment makers is willing and qualified to impart up-to-date knowledge on the ways, techniques or approaches to making fashion more responsible and ecological. Moreover, a broad understanding of skills necessary for successful professional practice is needed ranging from those that are artistic, through craft-related to business-oriented. Another important issue, key from the point of view of the long-term survival and well-being of the sector, is the overall ability to recruit students who would be willing to train in diverse fashion-related vocations—not only the most appealing profession of fashion designers perceived by potential students as inspiring and artistic but also more ‘mundane’ positions necessary for the smooth running of the sector. This chapter presents results of the nationwide research focused on secondary, post-secondary and higher education institutions which offer educational opportunities in the fields of clothing production and design in Poland in the context of their awareness and openness to transform educational curricula and activities in the spirit of sustainable fashion. The analyses include schools with different educational profiles (vocational, artistic, polytechnic and university). The current recruitment challenges and the locations of institutions active in the field of fashion education are discussed, alongside forms, directions and ways of educating students on issues linked with sustainable fashion. In addition, the most important bodies were identified—individuals and institutions in the external environment of the schools that are key in terms of cooperation on ecological and ethical initiatives linked with fashion.