Fast fashion, textile waste, and unsustainable clothing consumption are global environmental problems. How can we make a difference, here and now, in the ways we consume and produce clothing? Slow Fashion Season ignites change with exciting textile creations and research. Building on the excitement of 2025 we return with even more public events advancing sustainability through inspirational fashion creations and knowledge-sharing activities at University of British Columbia and beyond.
Slow Fashion Season kicks off in January and climaxes in March with two gallery exhibitions, the spectacular Slow Fashion Show in the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, a one-day research symposium, and numerous free maker workshops and challenges for students across Metro Vancouver enabling them to take the lead in creating sustainable fashion. Follow @slowfashionseason for the latest updates on all our events.
January–March
Maker Workshops
Held both on and off UBC Vancouver campus
A dozen free skill-building workshops with expert instruction and tools for making and reworking or renewing clothes.
February–March
Sustainable Fashion Challenges
Post-secondary students in Metro Vancouver are invited to make sustainable outfits and submit them for a chance to present in our Slow Fashion Show and Exhibition.
- The Sustainable Fashion Challenge is open for online submissions until February 25.
- Fashion Games is a fast-paced competition tasking designers with constructing a garment in just 6.5 hours, using upcycled and pre-loved materials provided. Hosted by partner LaSalle College Vancouver on March 7.
February 25–March 20
Monday–Friday, 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Slow Fashion Lab exhibition, AHVA Gallery
Audain Art Centre, 6398 University Blvd, UBC
Exhibition of material research and textile-based art installations.
March 12, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Slow Fashion Show
Museum of Anthropology UBC
6393 NW Marine Dr, Vancouver
Join us for the results of our Slow Fashion Season challenges, featuring a Slow Fashion Show in the Great Hall with sustainable clothing creations by student and professional designers.
March 14, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Slow Fashion Research Symposium, Audain Art Centre
Room 1002, 6398 University Blvd, UBC
Presentations of research towards slower and resilient textile practices: Learn what members of the Slow Fashion Research Cluster have been working on through presentations of research addressing questions around slower and more resilient textile practices. Open to all and admission is free.
- 9:00 a.m.: Panel on sustainable fashion issues: Hazel Clark (Parsons School of Design), Carl Stewart (weaver, Ottawa), and Anna Hunter via Zoom (sheep farmer and author, Manitoba)
- 11:00 a.m.: Panel on materials: Mackenzie Kelly-Frere, Farzan Gholamreza & Rohith Jayaraman Krishnamurthy, Kathy Dunster & Karla Sandwith, and Marc Massicotte.
- 2:00–5:00 p.m.: Natural dye and fiber workshop with local materials led by Rita Point Kompst (Musqueam fiber artist).
March 16–27
Monday–Friday, 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Slow Fashion Exhibition, Hatch Art Gallery
UBC Nest, 6133 University Blvd
Ensembles from our Slow Fashion Show on exhibition for up-close viewing.
Slow Fashion Season is produced by the interdisciplinary Slow Fashion: Circular Textiles, Sustainable Fibre Research Cluster, two dozen artists, designers, engineers, historians, curators, and materials researchers based at UBC and other schools, plus community and industry partners, all working towards more sustainable, conscientious use and production of clothing. This year’s exhibitions, fashion show, and symposium include cluster research such as a “wood leather” soccer ball and from UBC’s BioProducts Institute and recycled polyester textile research from UBC Okanagan’s Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute alongside the creative costume designs.
Slow Fashion Season 2026 is produced by the UBC Slow Fashion: Circular Textiles, Sustainable Fibre Research Cluster, in partnership with the UBC Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory; UBC Arts & Culture District; UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program; Museum of Anthropology at UBC; the Hatch Art Gallery; LaSalle College Vancouver; DreamStill Technologies; and Fashion Revolution Canada.
Media Inquiries: Deb Pickman, deb.pickman@ubc.ca, 604-319-7656
Slow Fashion Research Cluster at UBC: Germaine Koh, Assistant Professor in Visual Art, germaine.koh@ubc.ca, 778-317-9745
