Fashion & Meaningful Employment Seminar

As part of PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival, join three industry pioneers at the cutting edge of fashion and social enterprise, who provide meaningful employment in their local communities while running successful fashion brands in a free online seminar that explores what it takes to create, grow and maintain a fashion label that puts people first, and look back on the challenges that they’ve faced along the way.

Have you ever thought about who made the clothes you wear every day? Have you watched documentaries about the exploitation and disregard for human dignity that is rife in the fashion industry, and wondered whether there can be a better way?

This Sunday 6th March at 6pm in a free Zoom online Panel Discussion, John Condilis, the co-founder of Nobody Denim; Dewi Cooke, the CEO of The Social Studio; and Elisha Watson, the founder of ethical underwear brand Nisa will come together to explore these issues.

Free but register at:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cK6iqf4LSseI2ndrFtKecA

About the presenters:
John Condilis:
John Condilis, chairman and co-founder of Nobody Denim and board member of the Australian Fashion Council, is passionate about growing and re-establishing the clothing manufacturing industry in Australia. The Nobody story began with a small, family-built denim laundry in the back streets of Melbourne, Australian in 1999. Founded on the belief that, making jeans could be imbued with integrity and creativity, Nobody Denim has continued to go from strength to strength.

Dewi Cooke:
Dewi Cooke is the CEO of The Social Studio, a not-for-profit social enterprise providing education and work opportunities in fashion and the creative industries to people from refugee and new migrant backgrounds. Here, she oversees an RMIT-accredited training program, an Ethical Clothing Australia-accredited manufacturing studio and a socially-conscious retail venture as well as numerous creative and community projects. She's passionate about the intersection of creativity, community and opportunity, about dismantling barriers to participation for those from non-traditional education backgrounds, as well as the potential for revitalisation within the Australian textiles manufacturing industry.

Elisha Watson
Elisha is a litigation lawyer turned underwear entrepreneur. In 2017, she founded Nisa, a clothing label employing former refugees and migrants in their Wellington workshop. Elisha quit her job in 2017 to get Nisa off the ground, and 4 years later is now the CEO of a bustling and lively company that makes organic cotton underwear and bras, and eco-friendly activewear and swimwear. She has a diverse and talented team of 14 women from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Japan, New Zealand, Ecuador and Colombia at her side.