“Individualism is so passé”
April 22, 2018When somebody from the audience speaks up…and everybody suddenly has a moment to breathe, to hide the sudden uncertainty that is slowly creeping up in everybody. At the MOW exhibition at the ByAMFI Store past Saturday, this instance was quickly swept away by an AMFI lecturer who applauded and payed respect to the student body for the future driven thoughts they have been sharing. Nobody expected the discussion to be as connecting as it finally turned out. Students as well as the industry professionals engaged into a discussion about the changing industry and the increasing value of collaboration.
Article by second Year International Fashion & Management Student Annika Langhammer.
Besides a lot of critique on the current educational system as well as the broken industry, light has been shining on topics such as existing collaborative initiatives. According to Agnes, a third year branding student at AMFI, there are already strong examples in the industry. She has been part of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit and sees a huge potential in collaboration to empower each other to collectively strive for the better.
Yennhi, a second year Fashion & Management student, shared her experience from her participation in the Creative Women Collective in Amsterdam. Through organised events, especially women can meet like-minded people and learn as well as grow together. It is incredible how women from different industries can meet each other there, and instead of competing with each other, collaborate to become stronger.
Platforms to reach out and connect do exist in great numbers and are already embedded in our daily lives. Looking at Instagram for example, many of us use it, but more to showcase our lives and what inspires us. Therefore, the way of using these platforms needs to be changed. Up until now, it has not been taken full advantage of the purpose of these platforms. It is on each of us whether we use this opportunity, but the base for collaboration is already set.
Everybody who was present at the ByAMFI Store on Saturday felt the urge for change. We are the next generation entering the industry and we strive for a collective change. MOW generated a great platform to realise the power of collaboration which will be essential to collectively strive for the future we imagine. Collaboration is a process that happens organically, which should not scare us of to take initiative in our daily lives.