Claudia Lucia Arana

Feb 17

Our twenty-nineth member of the month is Claudia Lucia Arana

UCRF is running a ‘Member of the Month’ feature on this blog, where a member, selected at random from the membership database, is sent five questions to give us all an overview of our members. Our twenty-ninth participant, Claudia Lucia Arana, is a fashion designer, researcher, and educator working at the intersection of place-based textile knowledge, zero-waste and craft-informed pattern cutting, and critical fashion pedagogy that centres local materials, cultures, and more sustainable ways of making.

—1 How would you sum up your research/practice?

My research explores alternative approaches to fashion design and making, with an emphasis on how local cultures, materials, and situated ways of making intersect with contemporary methods and pedagogical practices in fashion education. An exploration of how knowledge embedded in place-based materials and craft traditions can contribute to more sustainable and culturally responsive modes of fashion practice.

This research is developed through a series of practice-based investigations, including the study of Japanese hemp as a design practice for sustainable fashion (2021); research into the use of fish skin as a material; and an engagement with the textile knowledge and cultural practices of the Ainu people of Hokkaido (2025), and examinations of how collective action and women’s activism contribute to shaping sustainable futures (2024).

Through textile research integrated with pattern making, I further explore zero-waste methods by drawing on Japanese traditional clothing construction and textile techniques.

— 2 How do you address fashion and sustainability in your work?

In my teaching of fashion design within the Global Fashion Concentration program at Bunka Gakuen University, I address the social, environmental, and design-related challenges of contemporary fashion practice, while highlighting how designers and practitioners have transformed their work by adopting more conscious and responsible approaches.

Recognising the important role that fashion institutions play in fostering sustainable practices, my teaching and research focus on pedagogical methods that challenge the status quo of current fashion education. This includes active participation in projects such as The Rebel Tartan Project, which promotes international collaboration between institutions and expands fashion pedagogy by engaging with other disciplines.

— 3 What are the conflicts you have encountered around fashion and sustainability in your work?

The capitalist-driven nature of the fashion system stands in fundamental conflict with the aims of sustainability. Across all stages, from design and production to education, material sourcing, and business models, fashion places a significant burden on the planet and on all living beings. The greatest challenge lies in achieving systemic change, which requires the alignment of shared goals that are inclusive of diverse perspectives, worldviews, and cosmologies.

In my work, initiating critical discussions that promote such change, particularly within academic contexts, where these tensions directly shape what and how we teach future generations, is one of the main conflicts I encounter.

— 4 What do you consider the key sources and cases when it comes to fashion and sustainability?

Key sources can be found across a wide range of actors, including foundations, NGOs, governmental institutions, collective groups, activists, and local communities. It is essential, however, to approach these sources with caution and a critical perspective, taking into account the political, economic, and social contexts in which they operate. Particular attention should be given to initiatives grounded in local production and consumption.

Equally important is the need to look beyond fashion in order to broaden our understanding of sustainability as an interconnected and interdependent system. Engaging with scientific research, philosophical inquiry, and other disciplines within design and the arts can introduce transdisciplinary perspectives into our practice and significantly expand our ways of thinking.

— 5 Could you recommend some less-known sources or cases you think should be more widely shared?