Dr Laetitia Forst

Biography

Laetitia has a background in textile design, she graduated with a masters from ENSAD Paris in 2015. She went on to work as a freelance designer and consultant before starting her PhD research with the Centre for Circular Design, which she completed in 2020. One of her key interests is in the effects of sustainability ‘constraints’ on the creative process, considering how they can be drivers for innovation rather than limitations. She explores the creative textile designer’s approach to these questions through hands-on work with weaving, laser cutting and other embellishment techniques. She is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on two UAL research projects: the Business of Fashion Textiles and Technology (BFTT) project with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, and HEREWEAR with the Centre for Circular Design. She also runs a UAL online short course on design for sustainability.

Research interests

Laetitia’s PhD research explored the potential of textile design for disassembly as a circular design strategy to improve material recovery and recycling. This opened up avenues to exploring how textile prototyping can design ahead of the great system changes that need to happen in the industry. Laetitia’s current research work uses scenario building and future thinking as drivers for a holistic transformation of fashion and textile practices. She enjoys facilitating the collaborative development of new concepts in workshops with industry and students, with the material and prototype always at the centre of change-making practices.