NEXT GEN ASSEMBLY

GFA Academy’s Next Gen Assembly convenes talented students and young professionals in an impactful advocacy programme, enabling the next generation to gain access to the industry, have their voices heard and ideas nurtured.

Applications for Next Gen Assembly 2026 are now open.

We invite students and early-career professionals from around the world to apply and join a global cohort shaping more resilient futures for fashion.

NEXT GEN ASSEMBLY 2026

The Next Gen Assembly 2026 will empower changemakers to use design thinking to explore alternative activities and behaviours in response to the question and core theme of this edition: How can we use fashion adaptation to build resilient futures? 

 

We are inviting talented students and early-career professionals to radically rethink how fashion can use adaptation to build resilient futures.

We are searching for compassionate, hopeful, connective, empathetic, and holistic thinkers, makers, and doers. We want to hear from those with strong commitment to, interest in, and/or experience in fashion and sustainability. Experience or background in fashion education or industry is a plus, but not essential. Applicants from diverse backgrounds and industries, globally, are encouraged to apply.

 

The eight selected candidates that form the Next Gen Assembly 2026 will receive a Summit ticket, travel, and accommodation for Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition on 5-7 May 2026.

 

NOW OPEN FOR 2026 APPLICATIONS  

Apply via the application form below and send it to academy@globalfashionagenda.org

 

Applications close on 26 January 2026

PROGRAMME activities

GFA Academy will support the eight selected candidates in developing skills, knowledge, and capabilities as sustainability changemakers. The chosen candidates can expect to interact with content from industry leaders, policymakers, changemakers and thinkers.

Eight selected Next Gen Assembly members will benefit from:

  • Year-long collaborative programme with online workshops and community-building
  • Full access to Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2026 (5–7 May 2026)
  • Travel and accommodation fully covered (4–8 May 2026)
  • Industry mentorship through assigned buddies and networking with global leaders
  • Platform for creative output, including opportunities to write GFA-published articles (September 2026–April 2027)

The deadline for applications is 26 January 2026. The programme will commence on 5 March 2026 and Members must be available to travel to Copenhagen during 4-8 May 2026 for Global Fashion Summit.

Who We Are Looking For

The Next Gen Assembly is a globally representative group that explores multiple and diverse approaches to creating a more prosperous fashion system. The Next Gen Assembly is inclusive of professions, perspectives, and practices across disciplines such as fashion design, technology, communication, supply chains, human rights, environmental stewardship, and business.

Assembly members should be:

  • Between 20-29 years old.
  • Students: Must be actively studying and have completed at least the first five semesters at Bachelor’s level (EQF level 6) or be enrolled in studies at Master’s level (EQF level 7).
  • Professionals: Must have graduated within two (2) years prior to participating in the Next Gen Assembly programme.
  • Aligned with at least one of the five Fashion CEO Agenda priorities.

TESTIMONIALS FROM previous members

  • “When you give us the opportunity not just to be observers but to participate actively in the conversations and create something, you are pushing us to develop and evolve as storytellers, creators or speakers, and that is essential.”  Next Gen Assembly Member 2023

  • “Next Gen Assembly was absolutely a life changing event. The entire experience helped in re-shaping my perspective on the fashion industry.”  Next Gen Assembly Member 2023

  • “My biggest highlight of the Next Gen Assembly was the industry roundtable. Before, I couldn’t imagine a place where you had some of the biggest names in the industry sit next to you and think of you as not just someone who’s really young, just starting out, but as someone who’s an equal voice, and who has something to say.”  Next Gen Assembly Member 2024

  • “What I’ve learned through Next Gen Assembly in terms of community has changed my perspective. I want to go back and do that same community for people back home. When we have a space to fully share our ideas and experiences, we have the feeling that we’re not alone on this journey.” Next Gen Assembly Member 2024

  • “Through Next Gen Assembly, I’ve gained clarity, courage, and a community of like-minded people who inspire me every day! It has affirmed my belief that meaningful change in fashion is possible when we work toward it collectively, and I cannot wait to continue our journeys together.” Next Gen Assembly Member 2025

NEXT GEN ASSEMBLY 2025

The 2025 Next Gen Assembly brought together talented students and young professionals in a year-long collaborative programme with a series of online workshops, courses, and by playing an integral role at Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2025.

Under this year’s theme, How Can Fashion Value the Rights of Nature?, the Assembly advocated for the ways in which fashion can be transformed to protect, restore, and regenerate natural life on our planet. Following months of collaboration, the Next Gen Assembly has now published its Manifesto — a collective call to reimagine and realign fashion with the living systems of the Earth.

The 2025 Next Gen Assembly is led by Global Fashion Agenda and the Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s Fashion Values programme and supported by Target.

 

How Can Fashion Value the Rights of Nature?

Alongside the report, the Next Gen Assembly 2025 has created a video campaign that brings the Manifesto to life. Each video breaks down key themes and ideas from the Manifesto, offering an engaging way to explore our vision for a fashion system that values the rights of nature and drives systemic change.

Through these videos, they invite you to reflect, be inspired, and see concrete examples of how individuals and communities around the world are reimagining fashion, moving beyond business-as-usual to align the industry with the living systems of our planet.

More videos will be revealed in the coming month, so stay tuned as we continue to share stories from the NGA.

1. Recognise Nature as a Living Partner

Nature is not a resource to manage – She is a living system that we are all part of. Centering her wellbeing is not simply the just choice but is a necessity in a world where sidelining nature only increases social and economic risks in the long term.

By Rory Frost, NGA 2025 Member, featuring Aditi Mayer, NGA 2025 Ambassador

2. Use Design as a Tool for Transformation

Invite nature to the design table. She is the greatest designer and teacher. Let’s be guided by Nature and reshape systems that honour our interconnections and are aligned with her rhythms, not market cycles.

By Thu Le, NGA 2025 Member

3. Shift from Extraction to Regeneration

We need a fashion system that gives back more than it takes. The linear model of take-make-waste must be reimagined and replaced with one that heals rather than harms, strengthens communities rather than exploits them, and becomes a force for restoration and resilience. These examples and cultures already exist – let’s make space to listen and learn from them.

By Maya Caine, NGA 2025 Member

4. Centre all marginalised voices

The fashion industry’s roots in colonial extraction and oppression persist today. To truly transform, the next generation of materials and fashion systems we must decolonise the land, labour, and knowledge they rely on. This can only happen with the elevation of both underrepresented human and non-human voices in decision-making and leadership, and the pursuit of true inter-species justice.

By Vibhuti Amin, NGA 2025 Member

5. Connect environmental health with labour justice

The soil and the seamstress are interconnected. We cannot protect one while exploiting the other. True sustainability is life-affirming – it means protecting the rights and wellbeing of workers at every stage of the supply chain. Ethical conditions, fair wages, and safety are essential pillars of any system that claims to be sustainable. If it sacrifices people, it’s not a future worth striving for.

By Elise Giselle Dauterive and Bronte Contador-Kelsall, NGA 2025 Members

6. Collaborate to transform

Everyone plays a vital role in reshaping the fashion system. There is no one path forward – only a collective, evolving tapestry of efforts and perspectives. To create lasting change, we must move beyond our defined roles and embrace open, cross-sector collaboration by default. Transformation happens when we share knowledge, resources, and responsibility, working together to drive real impact.

By Mel Corchado, NGA 2025 Member

7. Reclaim the Narrative

The soil and the seamstress are interconnected. We cannot protect one while exploiting the other. True sustainability is life-affirming – it means protecting the rights and wellbeing of workers at every stage of the supply chain. Ethical conditions, fair wages, and safety are essential pillars of any system that claims to be sustainable. If it sacrifices people, it’s not a future worth striving for.

By Sanya Singh, NGA 2025 Member

MEET THE NEXT GEN ASSEMBLY 2025 members

    Sanya Singh

    Creative Strategist at Schbang, Bachelor of Mass Communication & Media Studies, Symbiosis Centre for Media & Communication (SCMC)

    Sanya Singh

    Creative Strategist at Schbang, Bachelor of Mass Communication & Media Studies, Symbiosis Centre for Media & Communication (SCMC)

     

    Sanya Singh has always believed in the power of a well-told story. She first witnessed its impact in second grade, when a classmate shared that he prevented workers from cutting down a century-old banyan tree—by quoting words from a speech Singh had delivered. That moment shaped everything that followed. As a Creative Strategist with a strong background in mass communication, Singh uses storytelling to drive change. She’s explored how advertising influences behavior, from environmental campaigns to branding strategies. Her heart lies in fashion—not just as an industry but as a narrative woven through culture, identity, and sustainability. Singh has traveled across India, tracing the journey of textiles from artisan workshops to factory floors, seeing the beauty and the consequences of fashion's footprint. She wants to reshape these stories, creating campaigns that shift mindsets, inspire action, and make sustainability more than a buzzword. Because if words can save one tree, imagine what they can do for an entire industry.

    Mel Corchado

    Designer, Artist, & Founder, Master of Fashion Design and Society, Parsons University

    Mel Corchado

    Designer, Artist, & Founder, Master of Fashion Design and Society, Parsons University

     

    Mel Corchado started designing clothes before she could even string together a full sentence. But as she pursued a career in fashion, she wrestled with how to reconcile her artistic and professional ambitions with an industry built on exploitation. A Brooklyn-based Boricua fashion designer, Corchado explores how fashion can challenge dominant narratives and shift consciousness in service of decolonization. Her research-driven practice builds alternatives to the fashion industrial complex through participatory methods like upcycling, skill-sharing, and relationship-building. Rooted in collaboration, care, and transformation, Corchado uses fashion as a vehicle for political education and social connection. She debuted her graduate thesis, Everything for Everybody, during NYFW SS24 at the Brooklyn Museum. A Parsons MFA Fashion Design and Society alumna, CFDA scholar, Teen Vogue Generation Next Designer, and Open Call 2025 Artist at The Shed, Corchado continues to shape fashion’s future from the inside out.

    Thu Le

    Creative Director, XAVAN Inc.

    Thu Le

    Creative Director, XAVAN Inc.

     

    Thu Le is an expert, public speaker, and educator of sustainable fashion, and the Vietnamese representative of Redress – an environmental NGO on a mission to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion industry. From 2021 to 2024, Le founded and operated her sustainable menswear label, and showcased her collections in Hong Kong FW and Shenzhen FW. Her scope of work extends beyond sustainable fashion: in 2024, Le cofounded XAVAN Inc. - a design & communication consulting firm focusing on Vietnamese local systems and resources. Heading for lasting changes, XAVAN Inc. explores, connects, and facilitates Vietnam’s incredible wealth in culture and people.

    Bronte Contador-Kelsall

    Strategic Designer & Graduate, MA, Design, University of New South Wales

    Bronte Contador-Kelsall

    Strategic Designer & Graduate, MA, Design, University of New South Wales

     

    Bronte Contador-Kelsall is an interdisciplinary designer and strategist dedicated to driving positive social change. With a background in political science and design, she combines curiosity, analytical rigor, and creative problem-solving to investigate complex, interconnected challenges. Contador-Kelsall views design as a powerful tool for systemic transformation and is passionate about fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders to tackle pressing issues - particularly within the fashion industry. She values building meaningful relationships and embraces learning and experimental approaches to drive innovation. Her experience spans the not-for-profit, education, private, and public sectors. Most recently, Contador-Kelsall has worked as a consultant, using co-design, strategic communication, and collaborative practices to drive transformation in the public sector.

    Vibhuti Amin

    Student, Master of Material Futures, Central Saint Martins

    Vibhuti Amin

    Student, Master of Material Futures, Central Saint Martins

     

    Vibhuti Amin is an MA Material Futures student at Central Saint Martins, where she explores material innovation and biodesign for a sustainable future. In 2024, she graduated from Boston University as a Trustee Scholar with a Bachelor's in Chemistry with Honors and a minor in Visual Arts. With her interdisciplinary background in science and design, Amin explores how innovative materials and technologies can drive regenerative solutions for fashion. Through the Women@Dior and UNESCO program, her initiative, Recycle Rani, aims to combat climate change colonialism by improving recycling infrastructure and empowering female workers in Panipat, India. Her current work focuses on climate adaptation, exploring biomaterials that support resilient futures in disproportionately affected communities. Amin is passionate about bridging grassroots action with systemic change and is committed to challenging extractive practices, drawing from nature’s cyclical systems to foster a circular, equitable fashion ecosystem.

    Rory Frost

    Student, Master of International Relations, King’s College London / Sciences Po Paris

    Rory Frost

    Student, Master of International Relations, King’s College London / Sciences Po Paris

     

    Rory Frost is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in International Relations at both King's College London and Sciences Po Paris. His research focuses on Environmental Policy and Global Governance, with a keen insight for exploring the links between political behaviour and climate change. Alongside his background in international affairs, Frost is an active sustainability advocate within the fashion industry. Falling in love with fashion through modelling and professional experience in the UK and abroad, he is especially interested in how nature inspires all forms of fashion from couture shows to our everyday wear. Frost has gained valuable experience within key aspects of the industry including communications and project management. He is determined to amplify his voice and platform to inspire real change in an industry that he is truly passionate about.

    Maya Caine

    Student, Master of Environmental Management, Yale School of the Environment

    Maya Caine

    Student, Master of Environmental Management, Yale School of the Environment

     

    Maya Caine is a Master of Environmental Science candidate at the Yale School of the Environment, specializing in Industrial Ecology and Green Chemistry. With a background in corporate strategy, she has spent the past seven years building slow and circular fashion solutions. Caine co-founded Mive, a made-to-measure slow fashion marketplace, which later evolved into Mive Labs, a design consultancy advancing the circular fashion economy in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Currently, she is developing Helix, a circular fashion marketplace that traces the human memories and movement of garments with the mission of extending the life of pre-owned clothing.

    Elise Giselle Dauterive

    Student, Master of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara

    Elise Giselle Dauterive

    Student, Master of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara

     

    Elise Giselle Dauterive is a Master's Student in Environmental Science and Management specialising in Business and Sustainability. She has a background in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a focus on plant sciences, and worked in native California plant protection for almost 2 years. Combining her scientific expertise with her life-long interest in fashion, Dauterive is focused on tackling textile waste through corporate sustainability initiatives and environmental policy. Her work explores circular economy solutions, material innovation, and waste management strategies to reduce the industry's environmental impact.

IN PARTNERSHIP with

MEET OUR 2025 ambassador

Aditi Mayer is an interdisciplinary thought leader working at the nexus of social and environmental justice. As a journalist, photographer, and public speaker, her work examines inequities within global supply chains—particularly in the fashion industry—while amplifying narratives of resilience, heritage, and cultural preservation. She is the founder of The Artisan Archive, a storytelling and social impact agency weaving narratives of craft, climate, and culture.
Mayer’s advocacy began in 2014 while organizing within Los Angeles’ garment industry, inspired to mobilize for labor justice following the 2013 Rana Plaza Factory Collapse in Bangladesh. In 2020, she was awarded the National Geographic Fulbright Digital Storytelling Fellowship, during which she researched India’s farming and artisan textile industries, investigating their socio-economic and environmental dimensions. She has collaborated with institutions such as the United Nations, Fashion Revolution, and various academic and cultural organizations to advance critical conversations on equitable sustainability.
In addition to her professional endeavors, Mayer serves on the boards of the Garment Worker Center and Governance for Tomorrow, further cementing her commitment to systemic change. From features in Vogue to National Geographic, Aditi is known for marrying the worlds of art, industry, and education— all with a socially conscious slant.
Aditi Mayer Climate Activist and Storyteller
"I'm honored to join as the Ambassador for the Next Gen Assembly once more, helping mentor the next generation of thought leaders, visionaries, and changemakers at the intersection of fashion and climate. More than ever, we need to reconnect with ways of making that revive fashion's intimate connection to nature- from how we grow raw materials, to how products can return back to Earth. To center nature in fashion is to understand the circularity in its trust, most authentic form."

HEAR FROM THE next gen assembly

    Next Gen Reflections: What Happens to Fashion Workers' Rights When the Spotlight Fades?

    We’ve seen the headlines. Tweets calling out unpaid wages. Stories that make the rounds, stir outrage, then disappear.

    The 2024 Next Gen Assembly: Wellbeing Spiral Playbook

    he 2024 Next Gen Assembly: Wellbeing Spiral Playbook is a resource created by the 2024 Next Gen Assembly cohort. Centred on the theme of ‘Economies of Wellbeing’, it explores alternative models and diverse economic values within the fashion ecosystem

    Next Gen Reflections: Got Resilience? 

    This article is a contribution from Next Gen Assembly 2024 Member, Aerielle Rojas.

    Next Gen Reflections: The Power of Alternative Sustainability Engagement

    This article is a contribution from Next Gen Assembly 2024 Member, Hannah Lauren Riley.

    Next Gen Reflections: Can Social Enterprises Bridge the Sustainable Development Gap?

    This article is a contribution from Next Gen Assembly 2024 Member, Harry Vine.

    Next Gen Reflections: Empathy as a Fundamental Act

    This article is a contribution from Next Gen Assembly 2024 Member Maisie Porter.

    Next Gen Reflections: Centring Indigenous Knowledge - Interconnectedness in Fashion

    This article is a contribution from Next Gen Assembly 2024 Member Ana Sofía Vargas.

    Next Gen Reflections: Rethinking Sustainability Investment

    This article is a contribution from Next Gen Assembly 2024 Member, Tanya Singh.

    Next Gen Reflections: Where Do We Start?

    2024’s Next Gen Assembly ask the question: how do we centre wellbeing into the fashion economy?

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Upon successful submission of your application, you acknowledge and accept the requirements associated with participation in the programme. Before applying, please thoroughly review the terms, as they delineate crucial dates that require mandatory attendance and furnish pertinent information regarding your involvement in the programme.

  1. It is required that the Applicant can travel to Copenhagen to take part in Next Gen Assembly related activities during Global Fashion Summit in June 2025. The Applicant commits to be available on all days of 3-6 June 2025. The organisers recommend the participant arrive the day before or at the latest on the morning of 3 June. The organisers recommend the participant leave no earlier than 6 June. GFA’s travel partner will help coordinate the flights. Related mandatory activities include, but are not limited to:
    • Attending Summit briefing and debriefing on 3 and 6 June
    • Attending Global Fashion Summit on 4-5 June

 

  1. GFA commits to provide the Applicant with funding to cover travel and accommodation during the stay of 2-6 June
  2. The agreement does not cover the following expenses, to be covered by the Applicant separately: 1) Food and drink during the stay, 2) transportation to and from the airport and the different venues, and 3) potential visa costs related to travelling to Denmark.
  3. Lunch will be served during Global Fashion Summit on 4-5 June
  4. Applicants must complete the mandatory work prior to the Global Fashion Summit event, such as attending online workshops, reading items on the recommended reading lists, completing the Fashion Values: Nature curriculum, participating in an online masterclass event, and any other assignments given by the organising team.

Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2026

  • 05 - 07 May 2026
  • Copenhagen Concert Hall
Join us at the heart of sustainability in fashion to help drive meaningful change. The Summit convenes fashion leaders from across the value chain to advance the industry’s most pressing environmental and social challenges.