International | Multidisciplinary | BA & MA – One intensive week 43 | 23.–27.10.2023
Are you ready to dive into the circular future?
Do you want to learn from an international industry expert?
- Develop new relevant and radically new ideas from wicked consumer waste materials.
- Learn up-cycling and design thinking for the circular economy.
- Get smart with circular thinking and foster the green transition.
Come along, join in and take a step towards a more sustainable future.
This is your chance to make an international impact and learn something new!
Circular Thinking – Renew | Adapt | Redesign
A German fashion designer, Nora Kühner, will join us in Savonia week 43 with an Old to Gold Masterclass, guided by the headline “Circular Thinking – Renew | Adapt | Redesign”
In this masterclass, you will work in multidisciplinary teams to deconstruct and rebuild high-performance gear and textile leftovers into something radically new. Through Nora Kühner’s expertise and practical examples from her long experience with Masterclasses, participants will be encouraged to think outside the box and come up with new ideas for repurposing old textiles in a completely new way and in unexpected industrial sectors and fields of business.
The best product/service prototypes created in the Old to Gold Masterclass will be presented at the ISPO, the world’s largest outdoor and sports trade fair in Munich.
Nora has arranged an agreement with ISPO, so the prototype lineup will officially be integrated into the Sustainability Hub at the ISPO show. The overarching topic of this year’s Sustainability Hub is “Circularity” which fits perfectly with the Old to Gold approach of the Masterclass held in Savonia.
Extra carrots
- 2–3 best students of this Masterclass are invited to participate in the international ISPO Masterclass at ISPO Munich (show dates: 28.–30. November 2023). 3 credits.
- Two more students will be invited to participate in the ISPO fair with Nora. They will have an opportunity to present the outputs and learning of the Masterclass in Savonia in the ISPO Sustainable Hub. 3 credits.
- There will be ERASMUS grand available for student’s mobility.
Quote Nora:
“The industry keeps confirming us that the Masterclass is the right concept for introducing young designers & talents into the needs and requirements of the sector in these challenging times. Bridging the gap in between education and professional practice is mandatory to shape new scenarios and product ideas.”
Learn more about the latest ISPO Masterclass here: https://www.ispo.com/en/academy/ispo-academy-masterclass-ispo-munich-2022.
Learn more about ISPO here: https://www.ispo.com/en/munich.
How to participate in?
The masterclass is intended for third- and fourth-year BA students and all MA-level students from all disciplines.
Please, send an email with your short motivation letter & web-portfolio link to laura.pakarinen@savonia.fi by the latest 5.10.2023.
Approximately 15–20 students can be selected and participate in the event.
Participants are expected to commit to intensive work for the entire week: from Monday to Friday every day from 9 am to 5 pm.
The full participant info will be provided for the chosen participants.
Objectives of the Old to Gold Masterclass:
- Strengthening international expertise: The masterclass is a unique opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary learning and gain insights from an international industry expert in the real global working world.
- Offering new thinking for the future of making: To expand understanding of circular economy principles, sustainable development, and innovative design solutions for the future: In the case of upcycling the wicked textile material waste for the high-performance sports sector into something radically new.
- Learning new skills to shape the future: Learn about creative problem-solving, agile learning and sustainable design through hands-on practical workshops and collaborative projects. Participants gain insights into new approaches to sustainability and circular design, developing creative thinking and a holistic understanding of complex challenges.
Who is Nora?
Nora Kühner is a passionate designer, trend expert and creative consultant. For many years she has been committed to developing sportswear collections. Working for many well-known international brands in the fields of skiing, golf, tennis, soccer, swimwear and fitness has always been both a challenge and an inspiration.
Entering the stages of major trade fairs (like OutDoor show, ISPO Munich and PERFORMANCE DAYS) in 2008 to deliver trend speeches meant the thrilling start of a new phase in her professional career. Today Nora’s scope of work is mainly centred around trend analysis and creative consultancy. She is a regular speaker at FUNCTIONAL FABRIC FAIR in New York and Portland (OR), too.
Since 2016 she has been developing – in collaboration with PERFORMANCE DAYS – the renowned colour & trend forecast “PERFORMANCE COLORS by Nora Kühner”. Design is key to shaping the future and so Nora loves to take a closer look with her trend research at potential futures and to explore new opportunities for clothing and textile at the intersection of human, nature and technology.
Excited by shaping the future and sharing knowledge, she founded the international SPORTS. DESIGN. Masterclass project in 2015. A workshop project for students from all around the globe, dedicated to thinking outside the box and driving the long overdue change in the textile and clothing industries. The Masterclass project made its successful premiere at ISPO Munich 2016. Ever since Nora has been directing the yearly ISPO Academy Masterclass.
Learn more about Nora here: https://www.norakuehner.com/
Learn more about Nora and colours: https://www.performancedays.com/loop/color-trends.html
The programme in short
Intensive week 43 / dates: 23.–27.10.2023 / every day at 9–17
Location: Savonia UAS, Microkatu 1
Main Session & facilitation: Mic-L120 & MIC-L129, event opening 23.10. 9–12, Mic-J102
Working language: English
The Online Kickoff Meeting for all participants: 6.10.2023 at 15–17
Introduction to the design challenge of the Masterclass, overview of the underlying thinking: need for a fundamental change in the global apparel industry
Open Webinar Inspiration “lecture” by Nora Kühner / hybrid / Circularity – What is the future of design? Mon 23.10. 10–11, Mic-J102
https://savonia.zoom.us/my/zoom.huone1
Nora Kühner will provide deep insights into the global debates about the ongoing transformation towards circularity in the case of the sports sector.
Driven by the triad of progress – growth – wealth we have achieved a lot. But now we recognise that our stunning advances come at a price. The evolution of the economy and the growing wealth unveil their dark side. The consequences of the unbridled exploitation of the planet’s resources and short-sighted decision-making have become visible even in our backyards. The state of our world today forces us to shake out our practices and change our affluent way of life. Now is the moment to verify what we have achieved. What is worth to be saved?
The EU has identified the textile industry as a priority sector for its move towards sustainability. The pandemic has left lasting marks on the sector, too, and showed its poor resilience. We have more than enough tools and knowledge to drive the change for the better. We are all well aware of the challenges we are facing, but what about our skills and our will to advance?
Deeply dedicated to design, textiles and future-thinking, Nora Kühner questions the conventional, realigns our ways of “making things” and tracks down the traces of another tomorrow in design and textiles. Get inspired!
The Old to Gold Masterclass will be implemented in cooperation with Savonia UAS, the Elävä Säätiö and the Regional Textile Side stream –project.
Best,
Nora & Laura
