Search

Zalando and VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub launch 3rd edition of the Design Academy with a focus on inclusive design

Educational programme for young talents will focus on collaboration and innovation to address challenges of Adaptive Fashion

April 23, 2024
Corporate Citizenship
Six people modelling adaptive fashion; two of them are sitting in a wheelchair, two have visible prosthetic legs

Berlin, April 23, 2024 – The Design Academy opens its doors once again to young fashion designers who share the ambition of changing the fashion industry and want to dive deep into a collaborative and innovative learning experience. The third edition of the programme co-hosted by VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub1 and Zalando will take place from July 2024 to February 2025. This time the focus will be on developing creative and fashionable solutions for the disabled community.

The educational programme consists of sixteen weeks of remote and in-person training split into two phases: during the first eight weeks, 100 selected talents will delve into themes such as sustainability, branding and business modelling with emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility. In the second phase, the 10 most outstanding designers will be awarded with a scholarship for an eight-week Design Sprint, where they will be mentored by industry experts in adaptive fashion design, sustainable design systems and digital technologies with emphasis on 3D design and manufacturing. The journey will culminate at the Berlin Fashion Week 2025, where the finalists will have the opportunity to present their creations in a showcase exhibition.  

Who can apply

Freelance designers and designers from emerging and established brands with at least one year on the market and a minimum of two collections are eligible to apply. Brands must be based in Europe, and accessory brands are excluded from participation. Applications can be submitted from April 23 to June 10, 2024 through VORN’s website, where more details about the criteria for participation can be found.

What is Adaptive Fashion

Adaptive Fashion is apparel made for people with permanent or temporary disabilities (such as limited mobility, limited dexterity or sensory sensitivity) that offers additional functionality to make dressing easier. There is a clear gap in the fashion market — finding fashionable adaptive clothing still represents a challenge for disabled people2. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 130 million people live with disabilities in the European region - almost a third of the total EU population, yet the fashion market still largely does not cater to their needs.

Since 2020, Zalando has been developing adaptive collections through its Private Labels and partnerships with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and the medical-technology company Ottobock  - to provide a truly inclusive experience for under-represented groups. The pieces are developed in close collaboration with the disabled community with the aim of contributing to solving their challenges and offer a varied selection of stylish and accessible items.

About the Design Academy

Launched in 2022, the Design Academy is developed in collaboration between Zalando and VORN with the aim to use the power of community to foster positive, long-lasting transformations within the fashion industry. The programme connects young brands and designers with industry experts through an educational itinerary focused on more sustainable and innovative solutions for the industry’s challenges. Each year the Academy sets an innovative focus area: the class of 23/24 was centred around the theme “Luxury Goes Circular and Virtual” following the small-scale pilot edition, also focused on more sustainable creations.

1 VORN – The Berlin Fashion Hub was commissioned by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. Upskilling is one of the core activities of VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub, which brings together stakeholders along the fashion value chain and enables them to collaboratively drive sustainable development within the fashion industry.

2 Zalando intentionally chose to use "disability-first" language when referring to the disabled community, based on collaboration with disability-led consultancy All is for All and extensive customer research. We acknowledge that "people-first" language (such as “people with disabilities”) is also commonly used.

Zalando SE Boiler Plate EN

About Zalando

Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is Europe’s leading online multi-brand fashion destination. We are building a pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce, along two growth vectors: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B). In B2C, we provide an inspiring, high-quality multi-brand shopping experience for fashion and lifestyle products to more than 50 million active customers across 25 markets. In B2B, we leverage our logistics infrastructure, software, and service capabilities to support brands and retailers in managing and scaling their entire e-commerce business, both on and off the Zalando platform. Through our ecosystem vision, Zalando aims to enable positive change in the fashion and lifestyle industry.

About VORN

VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub is a physical and digital space in the heart of Berlin and was commissioned by the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Business. The founding members are studio MM04 GmbH & Co. KG, Sourcebook GmbH (Sqetch) and Belius GmbH. VORN is a registered cooperative that brings together stakeholders along the value chain of the fashion and textile industry to promote sustainable development in the fashion industry. For this purpose, VORN - The Berlin Fashion Hub provides a pre-competitive environment consisting of the four programmes: Innovation Lab, Scaling Lab, Community Services and Coworking Space. Within the framework of these programmes, VORN networks its community members in an interdisciplinary way and promotes knowledge transfer and cooperation within the community.