COUTURE

Culture Couture - Merging Fashion and Tradition for Sustainable Style

The present project named “Culture Couture - Merging Fashion and Tradition for Sustainable Style” (COUTURE) is a process of apprenticeship and collaboration on creating skills and capacities concerning the application of traditional arts (weaving, embroidery, knitting) in fashion design. Aiming to sustainable growth of fashion and creation of new jobs through education and training, this project will elaborate in the following aspect: application of Balkans’ traditional arts in modern fashion art based on creativity, design and ‘exploitation of culture”. In the partnership, universities from four countries, West Balkans (Kosovo, Albania) and an EU partner, Greece and a third country associated to the program, North Macedonia, will cooperate to jointly implement the innovative practice based on evidence. The project is partially based on the results of a previous Erasmus+ project concerning the revival of weaving and its connection to vocational training, to which two of the partners had participated. The project proposal COUTURE targets the overarching priority of the European Commission for Sustainable growth and jobs (build skills for life and work) by building capacities among the newcomers from the Western Balkan to re- invent the traditional techniques and methodologies at the Fashion Departments. The new modules introduced at participating HEIs from the Western Balkan will increase the employability of graduates by providing them unique skills that easily find application in the job market. In the context of the project will be produced modules based on relevant literature and digital sources referring to traditional arts (weaving, embroidery, knitting) and their connection to fashion design. Also, there will take place a training programme on the application of traditional arts in fashion design addressing to students in fashion design. The training programme will be divided in two sections, one theoretical, based on the modules, and one practical. Moreover, a web platform will be created where all the produced material and information about the project will be uploaded. The material included in the web platform will be available to everyone interested in its content.