Higher Seminars

The Higher Seminars aim to introduce contemporary research and professional work within the field of design, art, media, music and more.

The Higher Seminars consist of lectures around the field of design. Some of the lectures are given by researchers and designers close to home. Others are external to present different methods, know-how, and insight into discussions across a wide range of issues facing the industry, from sustainable design and supply chains to opportunities and developments in technology.

The Higher Seminars primarily target The Swedish School of Textiles' PhD, MA and BA students of fashion and textile design. However, the seminars are also open and available to all, meaning that anyone can come and listen.

Moderator and organiser: Saina Koohnavard, fashion design lecturer at the Department of Design, The Swedish School of Textiles.

Below is the schedule for upcoming seminars.

Welcome!

Location and time

When: Tuesdays, even-numbered weeks, at 13:00-14:30
Where: Zoom/Campus

Autumn 2024

The seminars of the autumn semester take place on Zoom or campus. More information can be found under each seminar.

1 October - Caroline Connor, Material Guidance

Lecture title: You Came Here to Become a Designer but You Will Become...

A career is never straight, it is a journey where you will be guided in many directions, both voluntarily and unwillingly. Cherish your studies at THS to prepare for your travels ahead.

Let me guide you through my routes from Glasgow to Sweden and 24 years of discovering that I am much more than a designer….

Educated with an MA in Textile Design from Royal College of Art, London, Caroline has worked as a consultant in CMF design and product development roles predominantly in the automotive industry. Today she offers consultancy services within Ecodesign and ESG topics as founder and owner of material Guidance Sweden AB.

Time: 13:00 - 14:30
Location: Vestindien A

15 October - Roei Derhi, Placebo

Fashion lovers are increasingly embracing digital fashion—clothing and accessories that exist only in virtual spaces like social media and gaming platforms. But why is digital fashion so important, and how will it transform the industry? In this lecture, we’ll explore key innovations like Web3, phygital fashion, blockchain, and extended reality (XR). You'll learn how these technologies are creating new possibilities for sustainable, inclusive fashion and reshaping the future of design, craftsmanship, and the consumer experience.

Roei Derhi is a fashion designer and 3D artist who incorporates technology into his creations. After his graduation show at the Shenkar College fashion department, H&M recruited Derhi and relocated him to Sweden to join their design team. In 2021, Derhi established the innovative and futuristic fashion brand, PLACEBO, collaborating with celebrities and big fashion companies such as three ASFOUR and Beyonce. He merges low-tech and high-tech, past with future, and physical with digital in his creations. Derhi has built a reputation as a unique Fashion-Tech specialist, speaking at conferences, and events, and lecturing at Shenkar's fashion department and Think Tank Canada.

Time: 13:00 - 14:30
Location: Zoom

29 October - Lena Berglin

Lecture title: A Diffractive Practice – Vagueness as a Resource in Scientific Research and Art

In systematic scientific material studies, vagueness is generally discouraged. The word "vague" comes from the Latin “vaccus”, meaning vacant, empty, or unoccupied. In German, “woge” refers to a sea swell, evoking the ideas of movement, oscillation, instability, and fluctuation. However, vagueness can also be understood as something free, available, and performative. In 2012, I began incorporating vagueness into both my research and creative practices in collaboration with artist Kajsa G. Eriksson. Now, a decade later, I am drawn to explore how the concept of vagueness has shaped my work, blurring the lines between creative and scientific material exploration.

Lena Berglin is a researcher and designer at the Department of Textile Technology at The Swedish School of Textiles. Alongside her research, Berglin co-manages the artistic studio Vague Research Studios with Visual Artist Ph.D. Kajsa G. Eriksson and Graphic designer Milena Karlsson. Her scientific research focuses primarily on the movement of liquids and moisture within textile structures. This knowledge has applications in fields such as healthcare products and functional clothing, while also offering visually intriguing experiences involving textile fibers, yarns, and structures. Recently, Berglin completed the art project "Technology as Ritual" in collaboration with artist Kajsa G. Eriksson and video artist Maria Magnusson.

Time: 13:00 - 14:30
Location: Vestindien A

12 November - Otto von Busch

Otto von Busch is Professor of Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design and holds a Ph.D. in design from the School of Design and Craft at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has a background in arts, craft, design, and theory and many of his projects and publications explore how making practices, and especially fashion, can mobilize community capabilities through collaborative craft and social activism.

In this seminar, Otto von Busch will address some of the seemingly inherent conflicts in fashion, around waste and sustainability, inclusion and exclusion, difference and sameness, conflict and community

Time: 13:00 - 14:30
Location: Zoom

26 November - Stina Behrens, Axfoundation

In this seminar, Stina will introduce The Fiber Traceability Initiative and how this Proof of Concept project is driving change towards full traceability in the fashion industry. Stina will highlight the challenges and opportunities involved in creating transparent value chains, as well as how collaboration with various industry players can support a more sustainable and circular system. We will also touch on the Digital Product Passport and how digital solutions and innovations that strengthen the circular economy and promote more sustainable fashion.

Since 2021, Stina has been working at Axfoundation, a non-profit organization, as a project manager within the Future Materials program, leading projects and initiatives focused on business development and innovation related to circular economy and transparent value chains. She initiated and currently leads The Fiber Traceability Initiative. Stina has a background in sustainable service and business development within both the private and public sectors. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Sciences from Stockholm University and a Bachelor’s degree in Art and Design from Beckmans College of Design.

Time: 13:00 - 14:30
Location: Zoom

10 December - Conny Groenewegen

My design process is like a dance with the material, I create conditions to provoke pleasure and quality, but it never lets itself be enforced.

I could not have discovered the things I make if I had outsourced their execution. My process stems from an intrinsic and inseparable connection between form, technique and material. Therefore, I design with the material and close to the technique. The material adapts if I challenge it in the right way and this requires receptivity to its properties and behaviour. I learn this by working with it, observing it, looking for its resistances. Quality is provoked but can never be enforced and, as a designer, I am convinced when the result evokes its own mystery.

Time: 13:00 - 14:30
Location: Zoom

Spring 2025

The seminars of the spring semester take place on Zoom or campus. More information can be found under each seminar.

7 January - Christoph Brach, RAW COLOR

Raw Color is an interdisciplinary design studio that considers colour as their core of activity. From there the practice stretches across the fields of Graphic Design, Textile Design, Product Design and Spatial Design. From their Eindhoven based studio they combine self directed project with commissioned projects for national and international clients. Together with their compact team they work for Adidas, Hermès, Ikea, Sancal, Samsung and Textile Museum. Their work has been taken in the permanent collections of Stedelijk Museum and Cooper-Hewitt Museum.

In the lecture, Christoph Brach co-founder of Raw Color and design educator, will show examples of the studio's practice. The presentation will illustrate how colour is the visual connection between diverse projects. It also will showcase how textile thinking and aesthetics can projected on a wide range of projects that are not necessarily executed in textiles.

Time: 12:30 - 14:00
Location: Zoom