ENAMOMA-PSL | Research

The session provided a stimulating forum for discussion on new production models in fashion and design. 

Introduced by Céline Abecassis-Moedas (Catolica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics) and Valérie Moatti (ESCP Business School), the discussion was based on research they conducted in Europe, which examined how fashion companies coordinate design and manufacturing between proximity, integration and outsourcing.

The debate provided an opportunity to reflect on the conditions for a partial relocation of production, not as a simple step backwards, but as a transformation of value chains through omnishoring, combining proximity, partnership and technological innovation in a flexible manner.

Justine Rayssac (Mines Paris – PSL) then presented her ongoing doctoral work on semi-industrialisation, that area of equilibrium where hand and machine cooperate to preserve the uniqueness of know-how while improving reproducibility.

Finally, Marie-Angèle Bongars (Alizarine Teinture) shared her experience of natural colour and the reintroduction of virtuous processes based on the commitment of a number of players in the industry.

The discussions highlighted the need to invent hybrid models capable of combining ecological requirements, technical innovation and respect for the trades.

• Delphine Droz, founder of La Belle Empreinte, expert in sustainability & innovation
• Nadia Maïzi, professor, Mines Paris-PSL, director of the Centre de Mathématiques Appliquées and The Transition Institute 1.5, principal author of the 6th IPCC report
• Astrid de Rengervé, CSR director, Le Slip Français

• Sophie Kurkdjian, assistant professor & researcher, American University of Paris / IHTP-CNRS / Culture(s) de mode
• Margot Leclair, associate professor, Laboratoire d’Economie et de Sociologie du Travail, Aix-Marseille Université
• Isabelle Lefort, cofounder of Paris Good Fashion, journalist

• Stéphanie Calvino, founder of rencontres anti_fashion & anti_fashion_project
• Eva Delacroix, associate professor, Dauphine Recherches en Management, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL
• Lauryane Tassigny, doctoral student, Dauphine Recherches en Management, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL / Les Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France

• Frédéric Garcias, associate professor, Laboratoire LUMEN, IAE Lille
• Alina Glushkova, researcher, Centre de robotique, Mines Paris – PSL & Sotiris Manitsaris, Adjunct director of the Centre de robotique, Mines Paris – PSL
• Jean-Pierre Ollier, artistic director, embroidery and textile design, Atelier Jean-Pierre Ollier

• Marine Baconnet, doctoral student, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers / Supply team Scavi Europe
• Loïc Lerouge, CNRS research director, Centre de droit comparé du travail et de la sécurité sociale, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux
• Bruno Nahan, CEO of Bugis and Maille Verte Vosgienne, President of the Fédération de la Maille, de la Lingerie et du Balnéaire

Create, to highlight the essential role of imagination and action. Connect, to bring together knowledge, disciplines and professions. Transform, finally, to consider the evolution of practices and economic models in an era of ecological and social transition. The research day painted a picture of a sector in flux, capable of combining sensitivity, knowledge and responsibility. It brought together a large audience to reflect on the transformations taking place in the fashion and textile industries.

The day began with a unique conversation with fashion designer Olivier Theyskens, focusing on the foundations and dynamics of creativity in the field of fashion. The interview, conducted by Darja Richter-Widhoff (École des Arts Décoratifs – PSL), led to a generous exchange on creation as both an individual and collective process, in which instinct, references, doubt and risk-taking are inseparable dimensions of artistic work.

For Olivier Theyskens, creativity is not limited to the act of design: it extends to all the decisions that structure the project, from the choice of forms and contact with materials to the relationship with audiences and the reception of the work. He emphasised the sometimes unexpected role of looking at your own work through the images of photographers or museum retrospectives. The discussions highlighted the tensions inherent in creative activity, caught between the search for personal expression and the economic and organisational constraints specific to the industry. They also emphasised the need for companies to maintain spaces of autonomy and trust that are conducive to experimentation.

The day was also an occasion to offer an overview of the research dynamics currently at work in France. By bringing together several academic initiatives, it highlighted the coherence of a field in the process of structuring itself, where design, economics, engineering and social sciences intersect. Guests from four academic programmes illustrated this complementarity of ongoing research during a dialogue moderated by Isabelle Lefort (Paris Good Fashion):

• Andrée-Anne Lemieux (IFM, Chaire Sustainability IFM–Kering) shared the results of research on the extrinsic sustainability of clothing and textile products, which aims to develop a measurement tool to improve the longevity of fashion products.
• Jérémy Legardeur and Valentina Nardi (ESTIA, Chaire BALI) presented the conclusions of their European study on the Digital Product Passport, which highlights the industrial, technical and regulatory challenges that will accompany its implementation in the textile sector. 
• Maud Herbert (IAE Lille, Chaire Tex&Care) presented a preview of the results of the second study by the Circular Fashion Observatory, published at the end of November 2025, with new insights into textile consumption behaviour, perceptions of sustainability, and reuse and second-hand practices. 
• Francesco Delloro (Mines Paris – PSL), Colette Depeyre (Université Paris Dauphine – PSL) and Joséphine Schmitt (École des arts décoratifs – PSL) presented the initial results of the ANR IDEOMM (see the “Research Projects” tab) research project dedicated to exploring the potential of unusual sources for fashion.
• Rami Benabdelkrim (Mines Paris – PSL) then presented the interdisciplinary Doctoral research Gallery exhibited during the Printanière, featuring 25 PhDs currently in progress or recently defended in the field of fashion and materials. This unique gallery highlighted the vitality of a field of research where doctoral work jointly explores the creative, technical and social dimensions of fashion. 

View the 2025 Doctoral research Gallery

The afternoon began with a round table discussion moderated by Benjamin Cabanes (RMIT Vietnam) and Pascaline Wilhelm (ENAMOMA-PSL), bringing together Philippe Berlan (Everdye), Myriam Chikh-Mentfakh (LeLabPlus) and Adeline Sapin (Solstiss), who discussed a question that has become central: where does creativity lie today in a fashion industry that is undergoing restructuring? The discussions highlighted that creativity is no longer limited to the aesthetic expression of collections. It extends to materials, processes, workshops and even laboratories. Designers, technicians, engineers and sales teams are learning to work together, sharing a common language that transforms their roles and redefines the traditional boundaries between creation and production. The speakers emphasised that constraints, whether technical, environmental or economic, do not stifle creativity; they structure it. Faced with accelerating cycles and growing demand for transparency, companies are opening up their workshops, making their processes visible and re-establishing a concrete dialogue between design and manufacturing. In this context, inventing means accepting to adjust, to reconcile industrial requirements and aesthetic visions, to imagine new ways of creating together. The discussion also showed that creativity is becoming a collective effort, fuelled by close cooperation between fashion houses, manufacturers, start-ups and laboratories.

Co-development is becoming a natural way of working: we experiment together, test materials, refine processes and seek solutions with less impact while opening up new aesthetic possibilities. From Caudry lace to low-carbon dyeing processes, from artisan workshops to technological innovation platforms, creativity thus appears to be the silent engine of transition: an expanded, distributed creativity that arises from the encounter between know-how, industrial constraints and sustainability imperatives.
    
The day ended with an invigorating conversation with Cynthia Fleury-Perkins (CNAM, Chaire Humanités & Santé), who invited us to consider the link between care and textiles. The interview, conducted by Cédric Dalmasso (Mines Paris – PSL), focused initially on the therapeutic function of beauty: clothing, materials and shapes can contribute to the restoration of the subject. Textiles become a caring envelope, a sensory and symbolic support that helps to contain, protect and rehabilitate. The question of dignity, the relationship to the body and attention to detail appears to be essential. Beyond this sensitive and therapeutic dimension, Cynthia Fleury also placed care within a broader reflection on forms of governance and transmission. Care is not only a matter of interpersonal relationships: it is also a principle of collective organisation. Thinking about care means thinking about how a community takes care of itself, its knowledge and its environment. From this perspective, the transmission of skills and trades becomes a central issue, as does the recognition of those whose work makes the sector possible but often remains invisible. This interpretation sheds new light on the transformation of the fashion and textile industries: reindustrialisation is not just about producing again, but about rebuilding trust and reconstructing common ground based on cooperation and shared responsibility. Care thus becomes a way of imagining a sustainable industry — one that is attentive to people, practices and the conditions of their existence.

With the support of the EELISA – European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance.

PERCEPTIONS OF MATTER: language, tools, imaginaries

• Edith De Lamballerie, doctoral student, Dauphine Recherches en Management, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL & Valérie Guillard, professor, Dauphine Recherches en Management, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL

• Laetitia Forst, post-doctoral researcher & textile designer, Centre for Circular Design & Center for Sustainable Fashion, University of the Arts London

CREATIVE PRESERVATION: an overview of ongoing explorations

• Tatiana Budtova, research director, CEMEF, Mines Paris – PSL
• Joséphine Schmitt, doctoral student & textile designer, Mines Saint-Etienne & EnsadLab
• Aurélia Wolff, textile designer, WHOLE

TRANSFORMING ECOSYSTEMS: resources, sectors and territories

• Sylvaine Berger, adjunct director, bioeconomy, Solagro
• Delphine Droz, founder, La Belle Empreinte
• Nina Giorgi, textile consultant and administrator for Lin & Chanvre Bio & Christelle Sapin-Didelot, general director, Façon de faire

KEYNOTE

• Mossi Traoré, fashion designer