Conference: Urban Fashion Networks - Rotterdam, October 7 2026
The FABRIX project's final conference titled Urban Fashion Networks: systemic design and practice will take place on Wednesday October 7, 2026 at De HER in Rotterdam. This exciting event is part of the official programme of Dutch Sustainable Fashion week, and coincides with the opening night of its events.
About the Event
Cities are pivotal arenas for transforming the textile and apparel sector from a linear consumption model into circular, regenerative systems. This FABRIX event marks the culmination of the Horizon Europe project's efforts to foster localized, resilient, and collaborative urban textile ecosystems.
Hosted at De HER in Rotterdam, a pioneering circular center and upcycling hub, this one-day conference brings together urban planners, systemic designers, policymakers, academic researchers, circular entrepreneurs, and community leaders. Through keynote presentations, methodology deep-dives, live digital tool demonstrations, and interactive roundtables, the event explores how local networks can drive systemic change across European cities and will highlight the outcomes of the three-year project.
Participants will gain key insights from comparative ecosystem mapping, discover policy integration approaches, and explore practical solutions developed by awarded SMEs in Athens and Rotterdam.
In the evening, after a snack offered by the City of Rotterdam, participants will travel to the opening event of DSFW hosted at the Fotomuseum where awarded SMEs work will be showcased.
Event Agenda
- 09:00 – 09:30 | Arrival, Registration & Welcome
- 09:30 – 11:00 | Frameworks & Ecosystems
- Karel Van den Berghe (TU Delft): "Why we need FABRIX"
- Keynote: Mariapaola Puglielli (PhD researcher, systemic design, Politecnico di Torino), "Visualizing textile ecosystems: A comparative network analysis of Lyon (FR) and Carpi (IT)"
- Keynote: Sebastien Deviers (Economic Development, Lille area), "Developing a local community towards circularity"
- 11:00 – 11:20 | Coffee Break & Case Study Video Screenings
- 11:20 – 12.40 | Methodologies & Policy Application
- Mina Rezikalla - Young Kim - Nefeli Lappa - Tia Bilali: "The Methodologies at the Foundation of FABRIX"
- Policy conversation: Karel Van den Berghe in conversation with Hanneke van der Heijden, Strategic Advisor, Rotterdam Circulair
- 12:40 – 14:15 | Lunch Break & De HER Facility Visit
- 14:20 – 14:50 | FABRIX Digital Infrastructure
- Adrian Hill, Joan Pau Plaza Villanueva and Alexandra Korey: The FABRIX platform and its features
- 14:50 – 16:25 | Panels with SMEs and Facilitators
- Panel 1: Circular and Sustainable Urban Business, moderated by Frédérique Thureau (Cedecs-TCBL)
- Panel 2: Design Solutions for Urban Wellbeing, moderated by Mariangela Lavanga (Erasmus University)
- 16:30 – 17:00 | Concluding Conversation led by Karel Van den Berghe and Frédérique Thureau
Participants in person will be offered a vegetarian lunch.
How can you participate?
It is free to attend the conference and the evening event of the DSFW, but registration is required for all participants to ensure access to the entire event. A networking lunch is also included. Please register even if you're attending online so we can email you the link to watch the streaming!
The live stream will open at 9:25am. It will continue through the coffee break and lunch break. We will try to stick to the indicated times so that online viewers can tune in to relevant sessions!
Sign up at this form (click here or embedded below)