Fabienne Gassmann is a designer working at the intersection of fashion, craft and social commentary. She studied knitwear at the RCA and fashion with a focus on sustainability at Goldsmith’s College, London. Her interest lies in stretching the industry-led definition of fashion by focusing on the value of crafts. Hand knitting, specifically lace and embroidery techniques are skills Gassmann chose to acquire, consciously applying them with the aim of creating a new critical narrative. The preservation of textile skills and cross-cultural traditions of making is an essential foundation of her work. She applies craft techniques commercially in bespoke costume making, catwalk showpieces and her own design practice. The debate around sustainable materials and slow production has revived the relevance of craft in Fabienne Gassmann’s approach to fashion. By up-cycling dead stock materials such as RAF parachute she is working out a new material discourse in light of very finite resources.
