Daniëlle Bruggeman inaugurated as Professor by special appointment of Fashion and Sustainability at Radboud University
- Fashion
- Research
Danielle Bruggeman delivered her inaugural address today as Professor by special appointment of Fashion and Sustainability at Radboud University Nijmegen. Bruggeman, who has been a professor of Fashion at ArtEZ since 2017 and is also a lecturer in the master’s programme Critical Fashion Practices, was appointed Professor by special appointment at Radboud University’s Faculty of Arts in April 2024. Her appointment marks an important step in the collaboration between ArtEZ and Radboud, which jointly aim to approach sustainability from the perspective of art and science.
Inaugural address: care and solidarity
In her address “Stitches of Care: Practising Solidarity through Fashion”, Bruggeman argues for a shift in the fashion industry from a consumption-driven system to a focus on care and solidarity. “Fashion does not always have to be about creating new products, but can also, for example, be about restoring existing garments with an eye for the stories they carry”, Bruggeman said. She stressed the importance of fashion as a means of human connection, where clothing is not just a product, as it is often treated in the fast-paced industrial system, but above all a social and cultural carrier of meaning.
We must look beyond the transactional, industrial approach of the capitalist fashion industry and create space for alternative ways of making and wearing fashion.”
Book Practising Solidarity
Also presented at the inaugural address is the book Practising Solidarity, a joint publication by Bruggeman and other fashion makers, artists and scholars. The book explores how fashion can contribute to sustainability and solidarity and offers alternative approaches that go beyond today’s industrial mindset of the fashion industry. It aligns with Bruggeman’s vision of redefining fashion as a practice of care and responsibility.
Collaboration between ArtEZ and Radboud University
Bruggeman is looking forward to the collaboration: “I look forward to bringing art and science and practice and theory closer together.” Her work as professor of Fashion at ArtEZ and her new position at Radboud University provide the space to further shape fashion research and education with an emphasis on sustainability, solidarity and ecological responsibility.