This article is a letter from the Next Gen Assembly 2025 cohort. Learn more about the group here.

Over the past few months, the Next Gen Assembly (NGA) 2025 has brought together a diverse group of fashion designers, systems thinkers, social entrepreneurs, and storytellers from across the globe. Spanning India, Australia, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and the United States, we have collaborated across time zones and geographies, united by one essential goal: advocating for the rights of nature and calling for systemic change. We are not here to patch up a system; we are here to reimagine and transform it.

Our journey began online, participating in a series of workshops, before we gathered in Copenhagen for Global Fashion Summit 2025. Many of us arrived with a mix of excitement and overwhelm, acutely aware of the vast scale of change required and the deep tensions embedded in the current system. But coming together in person was a transformative experience, bringing a welcome shift and creating a shared sense of possibility and unity. One of the most pivotal experiences was refining our NGA 2025 Manifesto – something that had begun taking shape in our initial online meetings. It provided the space for us to ask ourselves why we do what we do and to articulate a vision for the future we want to create. This process reaffirmed our belief that for fashion to truly transform and value the rights of nature, we must shift the mindsets and values that underpin and drive the system.

The Manifesto became our north star, guiding our discussions and actions throughout the Summit. We shared it during a closed roundtable with industry professionals from across the fashion ecosystem. By opening the conversation with our Manifesto, we set the tone for a deeper, values-driven dialogue, where participants were invited to bring their full humanity to the table, beyond their professional roles and expertise. Our focus was on moving past business-as-usual approaches and exploring how we can realign the fashion system with the rhythms of nature – acknowledging that we too are part of the living systems of the planet, not separate from them.

A recurring theme in our discussions was the importance of the local as both a place for reconnecting with nature and as a site for action. By rooting our work in local contexts and relationships – that are part of a broader, global movement – we believe we can drive tangible change that contributes to larger-scale transformation.

Over the coming months, we will be sharing a series of actions and activities inspired by the Manifesto’s core principles. Our aim is twofold: first, to promote the Manifesto itself and encourage critical reflection, discussion, and application across industry; and second, to demonstrate concrete and joyful ways in which we can act, both individually and collectively, to push for the systemic changes needed to build a more regenerative and life-affirming fashion system.

We invite you to engage with the Manifesto, reflect on what resonates with you, and consider how you can contribute to shifting the values and mindsets that underpin the industry. Keep an eye out for the content we will be sharing over the next few months via Global Fashion Agenda channels.

Download the Next Gen Assembly 2025 Manifesto here.