Conference: Urban Fashion Networks - Rotterdam, October 7 2026

2026-09-01

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.

Watch the livestream here.

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). Speakers:
  *Emma Samsioe, Lund University, CARE Sustainable Households project
  *Yob Woud, Tekkoo (Awarded Facilitator)
  *Esther Smit, Remake Society (Awarded Facilitator)
  *Ingrid Maria Meijer, IF_Questions (Awarded SME - RDAM)
  *Koen Meerkerk, Fruitleather
- Panel 2: Futuring circular fashion and textile economies, moderated by Mariangela Lavanga (Erasmus University). Speakers:
  *Holly McQuillan, TU Delft, INTERWeuVEN project
  *Marco Blaževič, Patchwork Family (Awarded SME - RDAM)
  *Joram Steen, Studio Haering (Awarded SME - RDAM)
  *Chrysanthi Gkourou, Blanthé (Awarded SME - Athens)
  *Suza Vos (Awarded SME – Rotterdam) & Sissi Pappa (Awarded SME – Athens)
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 (registration is now closed)