Democratising Fashion Collection Practices – International Council of Museums

The Fashion for Good Museum (Amsterdam) for Sustainable Fashion

Introduction

Collecting in museums today raises a plethora of issues relating to sustainability. A considerable amount of time, space and resources are indeed required to maintain the condition of garments in fashion collections. This type of collection often focuses on craft and socio-historical representation of fashion as opposed to interrogating the wider implications that fashion and clothing have on the environment. The Fashion for Good Museum (2017-2024) in Amsterdam adopted the latter focus, considering particularly innovations and the impact of the fashion industry on people and the planet. Operating with sustainability as a guiding principle and being a young institution, the museum was uniquely positioned to reconsider what it means to collect fashion, employing a democratic approach to ownership, with shared responsibility among multiple stakeholders. The following article explores the museum’s collection practices, reflecting on methods that could contribute to a more efficient, equal and environmentally sustainable approach to fashion collection management.

Fig. 1. Dutch Circular Textile Valley grid Learning Collection 2021. © Alina Krasieva

The Fashion for Good Museum Collection

Over the last five years, the Fashion for Good Museum evolved from an ‘experience’[1] into the first museum for sustainable fashion in the world, to date. It aimed to be an entry point for the public to the rapidly evolving fashion industry, as well as a dynamic platform amplifying contemporary innovative voices, informed through historical and scientific lenses. At its core, the Fashion for Good Museum functioned collaboratively, acting as a hybrid space for exhibitions and public and educational programming. This programming encouraged critical reflection on contemporary socio-cultural discourse in fashion, within local and international contexts. The Fashion for Good Museum positioned itself as a space to come into contact with the latest technological developments in fashion sustainability and textile innovation.

This focus was reflected in the museum’s collection policy. The museum had two collections: the Learning Collection, and the Unique Objects Collection. Both collections had the primary goal of documenting the development of sustainable innovation in the fashion industry and preserving these new techniques, with a specific focus on materials, technologies and examples of best practices.

The Learning Collection had a focus on material innovation and contained samples and specimens primarily from the Fashion for Good Innovation Platform[2], 90 per cent of which were donated to the museum by our community of innovators.[3] The museum’s Unique Objects Collection consisted of examples of sustainable and innovative fashion, comprising one-of-a-kind objects, some of them commissioned for a specific purpose. These objects were the result of collaborations between artists or designers and innovators.

Fashion for Good Collection Strategy and Discourse

Operating as a young museum resulted in a number of challenges but also offered many opportunities to reimagine what collecting means today. Prioritising sustainability above all else in the museum’s mission and vision, allowed us to approach collecting through an  environmental lens. The collection strategy addressed concerns around object accumulation, adopting a collaborative and democratic approach, which we termed ‘co-collecting’. ‘Co-collecting’ considers the multiple parties involved in the creation of innovative samples. The museum, acting as a facilitator for the creation of best practice examples, is only a partial owner of each object of the collection. Co-collecting is a horizontal structure, which allows co-owners a say in what happens with an object and how it is displayed.

Each object in the museum’s Learning Collection, had two owners, the museum (as the exhibitor), and the innovator (as the creator). Objects in this collection could be touched and handled by the public. For this collection, we chose to consistently update specimens[4], in line with the development of new technologies, whilst mapping this process digitally. As innovations developed, the museum updated the collection, which allowed us to display only the most recent and relevant artefacts and objects. However, every version of each object was recorded in detail and uploaded to the museum’s digital archive and database. The digital archive thereby functioned as an active and transparent record of real-time developments in textile innovation with the aim of being open to the public for educational purposes. The co-collection methodology was rooted in collective decision-making with stakeholders. The museum hosted a reflection session with innovators to determine the relevance of a physical artefact. This challenges traditional collecting methods[5] as outside shareholders were invited to take part in the decision phase of the collection’s formation.

The Unique Objects collection adopted a slightly different approach. The museum mediated collaborations between artists and innovators and maintained a third of the ownership of created objects, these objects were reviewed periodically (3-5 years). The other two thirds belonged to the designer and innovator who developed the object and provided the materials. Decisions about whether the objects should remain physically on the FFG premises were made in discussion with relevant parties, democratising the process when it comes to determining protocols for the condition and preservation of the object to use and display. As one-third owner, the museum gave up partial control over how the object was used and maintained. What distinguished our approach from private archives or collectors of fashion, was the prioritisation of the educational value of the object rather than its commercial or historic value.

Conclusion

Due to a shift in the strategy of the Fashion for Good organisation[6], the museum closed its physical doors on June 5th 2024 and was unable to explore the potential of its collection strategy fully, but the organisation continues to exist. We therefore intend this article to offer insights and suggest alternative possibilities for collection practices, especially in new museums. There is much room left for debate and research in this area. The complexities of sustainability, in particular, raise questions about accumulative collection practices. The Fashion for Good Museum embraced these complexities as a starting point for the mission, purpose and reason of the collection, offering an example for how digital archiving can play a role in the preservation of material history in real time.

[1] Fashion for Good was originally conceived as an ‘Experience’, meaning an interactive and educational space, rather than a traditional museum. It officially became the Fashion for Good Museum in 2021.

[2] For more information about the Innovation Platform, see: https://fashionforgood.com/innovation-platform/

[3] ‘Innovator’ describes start-up companies fostered by the Fashion for Good Innovation platform, developing new technologies to create a more sustainable fashion industry across the production chain. This could be through fabric production, dyeing practices, technology or more.

[4] Specimens consist of fabric swatches of biomaterials and end-of-use alternatives, examples of alternative dyes, as well as biodegradable packaging and technology from across the fashion production chain.

[5] We are referring to a generalised understanding that most museums are sole acquirers of objects, though we are aware that in some cases museums pool funds to collectively acquire objects of exceedingly high value. In our case, we have expanded this co-ownership to include the makers themselves. This further democratises the decision-making process by sharing power and responsibility of what happens with objects and how they’re displayed.

[6] For more information, see: https://fashionforgood.com/our_news/fashion-for-good-unveils-five-year-strategy-shifting-to-scale-innovation-in-fashion/