The UN Brings Craft to Fashion Week

For the first time, the UN Fashion and Lifestyle Network trades its single annual meeting for four sessions during New York Fashion Week, with craftsmanship and material systems on the agenda

The United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network is running its programme during New York Fashion Week for the first time, instead of holding its usual single annual meeting. Four sessions will take place at the UN's Goals Lounge in New York from 10 to 15 September, timed to NYFW's spring/summer 2027 show calendar.

A Shift From One Meeting to Four

The network has typically held one annual meeting a year, usually in May. Its fourth annual meeting, held at UN headquarters in May 2025, brought together more than 300 industry leaders, stakeholders and UN representatives.

This year, the format is changing. Lucie Brigham, chief of office at the UN Office for Partnerships, which oversees the network, announced the move at a press conference at UN headquarters. “For the first time in the network's history, we decided to move it,” she said, noting that the meeting had traditionally been held earlier in the year.

Four Sessions Instead of One

The sessions, all set to take place at the Goals Lounge, cover four separate topics:

1. A spotlight on Portugal's fashion and footwear industry.
2. A session on how education can equip a new generation of industry changemakers.
3. A session on how craftsmanship and innovation can reshape material systems.
4. A session making the case for lifestyle as an engine of sustainable change.

Who Is Taking Part

Four speakers have been confirmed so far.

• Rebecca Levy-Lewis – the top HR and culture executive at Depop, the online platform for buying and selling second-hand clothes.
• Adam Taubenfligel – creative director at Triarchy, a denim brand, where he also leads its sustainability work.
• Massimiliano Giornetti – head of Polimoda, a well-known fashion school in Florence, Italy.
• Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon – the person who represents the International Labour Organization (a UN agency focused on workers' rights) at the UN.

What the Network Does

The UN Fashion and Lifestyle Network is a joint initiative of the UN Office for Partnerships, the Fashion Impact Fund and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with the UN Industrial Development Organization as a supporting partner. 

It connects fashion and lifestyle businesses, governments and UN agencies around the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, the 17 targets adopted by member states in 2015 to guide progress on poverty, climate and inequality by 2030.

The network's other current projects include a UN tour guide uniform designed with students from the Swedish School of Textiles, unveiled earlier this year, and a coming accessory line by students at Central Saint Martins in London, both built around circular design principles and deadstock materials.

A Familiar Thread

Of the four sessions, the one on craftsmanship and material systems sits closest to the work artisan-led brands do every day, turning natural dyes, handloom weaving and traditional embroidery into finished garments. 

Placing that discussion alongside Portugal's footwear industry and a lifestyle-focused panel suggests the UN now treats craft skill as part of the sustainability conversation, not separate from it.

Running four sessions across a single fashion week, rather than one meeting on its own, also puts the network's message in front of buyers, editors and designers who are already in the city for NYFW, rather than asking them to attend a separate event.

Key Takeaways

1. First time ever: four NYFW sessions replace the network's one annual meeting.
2. Sessions run 10 to 15 September at the UN's Goals Lounge, alongside NYFW.
3. Four topics: Portugal's fashion and footwear industry, education, craftsmanship and material systems, and lifestyle.
4. Speakers confirmed from Depop, Triarchy, Polimoda and the ILO.
5. Network run jointly by the UN Office for Partnerships, the Fashion Impact Fund and UN DESA.