Innovation is being fuelled by a new wave of creative leaders from fashion, art and design, who are building meaningful change on issues of sustainability and social justice.
The next generation of collaborations was explored at a Collectivity Talks panel event as part of Melbourne Design Week and Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival 2020 (VAMFF).
Presented by Communications Collective and RUSSH Magazine as part of the Collectivity Talks series, the panel will feature Kit Willow of KitX, Ukrainian artist Stanislava Pinchuk, Australian artist Anna-Wili Highfield, Jess Blanch, editor-in-chief of RUSSH Magazine and Genevieve Brannigan of Communications Collective.
As the only talk event to be programmed as part of both festivals, the panel provides a unique intersection between the fields of fashion, design and art, looking at the cross-sector collaborations that are sparking action.
“Increasingly, audiences are wanting to know that the brands and companies they engage with have real integrity, and values-driven collaborations are a great way for brands to communicate this,” says Brannigan.
“On a wider scale, these collaborations have the power to spark and build conversations across different sectors – helping people engage with important social issues in new and different ways.”
Often known by her pseudonym, Miso, Stanislava Pinchuk works with data-mapping the changing topographies of war and conflict zones.
Having previously worked for large brands like Nike and Chanel, Pinchuk recently curated an exhibition for the Immigration Museum on tattooing and its intersection with ideas of migration journeys, the embodiment of trauma, heritage and identity.
“Collaborations are really great, in that – at their best – they remind us how nimble and receptive we need to be in our own practices to push through to something interesting,” she says.
“I think artists are here to start conversations and respond to contradictions and nuances in the world. Inspiration for me is tied up in international relations, geopolitics and conflict – but also from fashion, architecture and literature. There is real power in bringing challenging ideas into your work and starting conversations in a new way.”
Collectivity Talks: The new generation of creative collaborations was presented as part of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival’s 2020 Independent Ideas Program, and Melbourne Design Week 2020, an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV.
