The Nature of Textiles: Keynote Address & Artist Talks

Conversations in Creativity

BTB is delighted to welcome author, activist and Fair Trade Fashion entrepreneur Carry Somers to give the keynote lecture to this year’s programme.

A visionary change-maker, Carry Somers is renowned for her transformative impact on the fashion industry. As co-founder of Fashion Revolution, the world’s largest fashion activism movement, she has ignited a shift towards transparency, fairness, and sustainability in supply chains. Recognised by the Business of Fashion’s BoF 500 as one of the most influential figures in fashion, Carry founded Pachacuti, an award-winning Fair Trade brand, and co-founded League of Artisans, a non-profit organisation championing artisanal skills in response to global challenges.

Carry’s new book, The Nature of Fashion, is an epic sweep through the history of how we learned to create clothing with plants, revealing how textiles have transformed both the human world and our natural landscape. Fashion is at a turning point – if we are to move forward, perhaps we first need to look back?

Carry’s keynote will be followed by an in conversation hosted by BTB artistic director, Laurie Peake with artists, Porfirio Gutiérrez and Melanie Smith, whose work is being shown at The Whitaker. There will also be an opportunity to hear from Bangalore based artist Dhara Mehrotra, about her site specific work Filamentous in a series of drop in artist talks in her exhibition space as well as a chance to pick up a copy of Carry’s book from the Whitaker gift shop and have it signed.

This is a FREE but limited capacity ticketed event, please book through our eventbrite page.

In association with Creative Lancashire.

Dates

03/10/25
1 – 4pm

Venue Address

Haslingden Rd, Rawtenstall, Rossendale, BB4 6RE