[16] - Hester VANACKER - How to kickstart your career in Sustainability | Fashion Career Stories with Lucas SILVA EDWARDS

Fashion Career Lab

Today, we gonna talk about one the most important challenge that our industry has to face: sustainability

And when I though about this topic, the first person I wanted to talk to was Hester Vanacker.

Hester is one my former student and I have helped her design her path into our industry.

And from day1, what has always surprises me was her passion and dedication for sustainability. Every time she talked about it she was vibrant and full of energy.

That’s why I was not surprised when few months later, barely graduated, she announced that her first research paper on durability was published in a very well know scientific journal and that she was starting to work inside the Sustainability dept of one of the french luxury group.

Sustainability being such a new topic in our industry, the career path to work inside those kind of department are still not very clear. This is why I wanted to take this opportunity to chat with Hester and better understand what were steps she has taken so far and what advice she could provide for those who wants to do the same.

In this episode, you will learn about :

• How Hester used her design background as a stepping stone to tackle sustainability issues
• Her vision about sustainability and how she tries to infuse it in all level of the company
• The story behind her first research paper on the dimension of durability
• How to start building your expertise in sustainability from scratch

I also invite you to take a moment to look at the show notes, because Hester was kind enough to shared with us a large diversity of ressources, from documentaries, books, websites and research papers.

You can find her on Linkedin at Hester VANACKER or on Instagram @he_the_studio

And with no further ado, please enjoy this wide ranging conversation with Hester Vanacker

TO LEARN

• A free online course by Fashion Revolution on the Sustinable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN:
• MOOC on sustainable fashion with Microcredentials by IFM:
• The Wardrobe Crisis Academy:

TO READ ONLINE

• Hester Vanacker’sarticle:
• The Ellen MacArthur Foundation offers many interesting reports: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
• The Circular Design Guide by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (also published a book): https://www.circulardesignguide.com/
• ATMOS has incredible articles on intersectional environmentalism: https://atmos.earth/

BOOKS

• Fashionopolis by Dana Tomas:
• Unraveled by Maxine Bédat:

SCIENTIFIC DATABASES

• Web of science:
• Science direct:
• Jstor
• MDPI

TO WATCH

• The “True Cost” documentary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_True_Cost
• “Slay” documentary, available on Waterbear: https://www.slay.film/

TO LISTEN

• The Wardrobe Crisis Podcast by Clare Press: