2025
2015
FRANCES CORNER: CHALLENGE CONVENTION IN DESIGN
12th - 16th of May 2015
17th annual conference of IFFTI - International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes
“MOMENTING THE MEMENTO”
Polimoda, Florence
At the end of Linda Loppa's tenure as director, Polimoda organised an international conference that, according to Linda’s vision, became a vibrant and multifaceted event: an academic conference, a set of exhibitive and performative events, a moment of collective brainstorming and generally, a statement about how fashion education can be rethought and redesigned.
I collaborated with Linda on the talk sessions “In Conversation With” that took place in the Odeon Cinema, as well as on other curatorial aspects, which led to the realisation of the entire event.
It all began much earlier. In 2012, there was a gathering called “SALON” organised by Linda, which I attended alongside Barbara Vinken, Filep Motwary, Stefan Siegel, Danilo Venturi, Alberto Salvadori, and several other panellists.
Then, between 2014 and 2015, we began to meet more often with Linda, to envision how an academic conference could become a way to re-evoke the Florentine Fashion Biennial organised by Germano Celant, Ingrid Sischy, Franca Sozzani, and Luigi Settembrini in 1996/97. The twentieth anniversary of that great event, a real milestone for the history of fashion curating, would be a year later, in 2016, and we were totally aware of that.
Danilo Venturi wrote an essay titled “Momenting the Memento”, which provided a conceptual spark and also served as the title for the entire event.
Linda formed a small group, inviting Francesca Tacconi from Pitti Immagine, Alberto Salvadori from Marino Marini Museum, myself, and a few more collaborators to serve as a jury and review the applications. We were gathering in a small room behind Linda’s office, which gradually became our “dream” place. Walls were covered with images, prints from portfolios, various visual references, and keywords BODY | SPACE | DRESS | IMAGERY | CALLIGRAPHY | CRAFT that were central to the curatorial and conceptual framework Linda envisioned.
Frances Corner
Professor Frances Corner OBE is the Warden of Goldsmiths, University of London.
Previously Head of London College of Fashion and Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts London, she has over 25 years’ experience within the higher education sector, working at both national and international levels.
Regularly public speaking, Frances has delivered keynote speeches and lectures at TEDTalks, the United Nations, International Universities and private events. An experienced writer and broadcaster, Frances publishes widely on art and design education and, in 2014, published her first book entitled ‘Why Fashion Matters’ (Thames and Hudson).
She is a board member for the University of London and London Higher and Chair of the AccessHE Steering Group.
A passionate sustainability advocate, Frances is Executive Chair of the London Higher Sustainability Network and a member of the Universities UK Task and Finish Group exploring how UK universities can address climate change.
She is a Council member for the All-Party Parliamentary University Group and Creative UK.
Frances is Chair of Trustees at Maudsley Charity. She was previously Chair of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes and Chair of Trustees for the House of Illustration. She was also a board member for Advance HE, the Wallace Collection and Centrepoint, the youth homelessness charity.
In March 2016, Frances was honoured with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) Distinguished Professor and PhD Supervisor Award, and in 2017, she was given an honorary degree from the University of Gloucestershire.
She holds a DPhil from Oxford and was awarded an OBE in 2009 for services to fashion, Higher Education, and widening participation in arts education.
https://www.francescorner.com
Dobrila Denegri: You are the Chair of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes, which is approaching its annual meeting in Florence, organised and curated by Polimoda. Linda Loppa and her team wanted to challenge the frame of the conventional academic conference, proposing a more dynamic and performative event which will bring international creatives in direct dialogue with the city of Florence and its rich artistic and fashion heritage. What do you expect from the upcoming IFFTI meeting, and do you think this new format will have an impact on future conferences?
Frances Corner: I am very interested in Polimoda’s vision for the IFFTI conference, and the idea of linking the themes being debated and explored directly with the city of Florence. Florence is a place driven by its history, more than anywhere else I have visited, and it is a history that has had a unique and extraordinary cultural and creative influence on subsequent generations. Florence’s rich heritage celebrates ideas and intellectual experiments, and challenges the accepted status quo regarding fashion and art. It is this approach that I hope to see carried forward into future conferences.
DD: Education is all about transformation, but also about a sense of responsibility towards society and the environment. How can fashion schools and institutes nurture these values?
FC: Social and environmental responsibility is an integral part of education. IFFTI members, through these conferences and debates, are in a unique position to encourage students not to accept historical conventions or traditional ways of doing things. Education is all about transformation, and if we challenge our students, encourage them to challenge us, and also the fashion industry as a whole, we can serve as conduits for the transformative power of fashion education.
DD: What should be the role of cross-disciplinary research in the field of fashion education?
FC: Fashion, as a discipline, offers a unique and significant opportunity to influence cross-disciplinary research, and this opportunity should be at the heart of fashion education. Fashion is ubiquitous and all-pervasive in our society; it connects many disciplines and, through collaborative cross-disciplinary research, it has the potential to inform other areas as well as develop its interdisciplinary approach to research and education.
DD: If you had to choose three key-words/concepts/paradigms to lead us in the future, what would they be and why? (One for each of these three questions):
1. Towards what we, as a collective, should aspire?
FC: Be Collaborative - Working together to establish the needs of industry and solve issues such as climate change and resource depletion.
2. Towards what fashion creatives should aspire?
FC: Be Challenging - Challenge convention in design, don’t accept second best.
3. Towards what an individual should aspire?
FC: Be Responsible - For everything you buy, wear it, and think about how you dispose of it.
Published at the Polimoda website during the IFFTI Conference
Frances Corner
2025
12th - 16th of May 2015
17th annual conference of IFFTI - International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes
“MOMENTING THE MEMENTO”
Polimoda, Florence
At the end of Linda Loppa's tenure as director, Polimoda organised an international conference that, according to Linda’s vision, became a vibrant and multifaceted event: an academic conference, a set of exhibitive and performative events, a moment of collective brainstorming and generally, a statement about how fashion education can be rethought and redesigned.
I collaborated with Linda on the talk sessions “In Conversation With” that took place in the Odeon Cinema, as well as on other curatorial aspects, which led to the realisation of the entire event.
It all began much earlier. In 2012, there was a gathering called “SALON” organised by Linda, which I attended alongside Barbara Vinken, Filep Motwary, Stefan Siegel, Danilo Venturi, Alberto Salvadori, and several other panellists.
Then, between 2014 and 2015, we began to meet more often with Linda, to envision how an academic conference could become a way to re-evoke the Florentine Fashion Biennial organised by Germano Celant, Ingrid Sischy, Franca Sozzani, and Luigi Settembrini in 1996/97. The twentieth anniversary of that great event, a real milestone for the history of fashion curating, would be a year later, in 2016, and we were totally aware of that.
Danilo Venturi wrote an essay titled “Momenting the Memento”, which provided a conceptual spark and also served as the title for the entire event.
Linda formed a small group, inviting Francesca Tacconi from Pitti Immagine, Alberto Salvadori from Marino Marini Museum, myself, and a few more collaborators to serve as a jury and review the applications. We were gathering in a small room behind Linda’s office, which gradually became our “dream” place. Walls were covered with images, prints from portfolios, various visual references, and keywords BODY | SPACE | DRESS | IMAGERY | CALLIGRAPHY | CRAFT that were central to the curatorial and conceptual framework Linda envisioned.
Frances Corner
Professor Frances Corner OBE is the Warden of Goldsmiths, University of London.
Previously Head of London College of Fashion and Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts London, she has over 25 years’ experience within the higher education sector, working at both national and international levels.
Regularly public speaking, Frances has delivered keynote speeches and lectures at TEDTalks, the United Nations, International Universities and private events. An experienced writer and broadcaster, Frances publishes widely on art and design education and, in 2014, published her first book entitled ‘Why Fashion Matters’ (Thames and Hudson).
She is a board member for the University of London and London Higher and Chair of the AccessHE Steering Group.
A passionate sustainability advocate, Frances is Executive Chair of the London Higher Sustainability Network and a member of the Universities UK Task and Finish Group exploring how UK universities can address climate change.
She is a Council member for the All-Party Parliamentary University Group and Creative UK.
Frances is Chair of Trustees at Maudsley Charity. She was previously Chair of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes and Chair of Trustees for the House of Illustration. She was also a board member for Advance HE, the Wallace Collection and Centrepoint, the youth homelessness charity.
In March 2016, Frances was honoured with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) Distinguished Professor and PhD Supervisor Award, and in 2017, she was given an honorary degree from the University of Gloucestershire.
She holds a DPhil from Oxford and was awarded an OBE in 2009 for services to fashion, Higher Education, and widening participation in arts education.
https://www.francescorner.com
2015
FRANCES CORNER: CHALLENGE CONVENTION IN DESIGN
Dobrila Denegri: You are the Chair of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes, which is approaching its annual meeting in Florence, organised and curated by Polimoda. Linda Loppa and her team wanted to challenge the frame of the conventional academic conference, proposing a more dynamic and performative event which will bring international creatives in direct dialogue with the city of Florence and its rich artistic and fashion heritage. What do you expect from the upcoming IFFTI meeting, and do you think this new format will have an impact on future conferences?
Frances Corner: I am very interested in Polimoda’s vision for the IFFTI conference, and the idea of linking the themes being debated and explored directly with the city of Florence. Florence is a place driven by its history, more than anywhere else I have visited, and it is a history that has had a unique and extraordinary cultural and creative influence on subsequent generations. Florence’s rich heritage celebrates ideas and intellectual experiments, and challenges the accepted status quo regarding fashion and art. It is this approach that I hope to see carried forward into future conferences.
DD: Education is all about transformation, but also about a sense of responsibility towards society and the environment. How can fashion schools and institutes nurture these values?
FC: Social and environmental responsibility is an integral part of education. IFFTI members, through these conferences and debates, are in a unique position to encourage students not to accept historical conventions or traditional ways of doing things. Education is all about transformation, and if we challenge our students, encourage them to challenge us, and also the fashion industry as a whole, we can serve as conduits for the transformative power of fashion education.
DD: What should be the role of cross-disciplinary research in the field of fashion education?
FC: Fashion, as a discipline, offers a unique and significant opportunity to influence cross-disciplinary research, and this opportunity should be at the heart of fashion education. Fashion is ubiquitous and all-pervasive in our society; it connects many disciplines and, through collaborative cross-disciplinary research, it has the potential to inform other areas as well as develop its interdisciplinary approach to research and education.
DD: If you had to choose three key-words/concepts/paradigms to lead us in the future, what would they be and why? (One for each of these three questions):
1. Towards what we, as a collective, should aspire?
FC: Be Collaborative - Working together to establish the needs of industry and solve issues such as climate change and resource depletion.
2. Towards what fashion creatives should aspire?
FC: Be Challenging - Challenge convention in design, don’t accept second best.
3. Towards what an individual should aspire?
FC: Be Responsible - For everything you buy, wear it, and think about how you dispose of it.
Published at the Polimoda website during the IFFTI Conference
Frances Corner
INSTAGRAM
@EXPERIMENTS.FASHION.ART