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with a history of fish skin leather production, such as Iceland, Sweden, Finland and
Denmark, preserving and using fish skin cultural heritage and strengthening networking activity.
The workshop took place in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland, and combined learning about
traditional knowledge on fish skin tanning with studying the technological progress
of the Icelandic tannery Atlantic Leather, which has been turning local fish skin into
highly sustainable leather since 1994. A total of ten students from universities in the
circumpolar area (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland) and the UK benefited from
the workshop. A Swedish craftsperson from the Sami ethnic minority delivered the
workshop. Lotta Rhame shared traditional Sami fish skin tanning methods and
passed down the endangered fish skin craft to the next generation of Nordic students
as part of a sustainable fashion higher education programme to learn best practices
for social change and sustainability. The programme included preparation, implementation, evaluation and a follow-up phase.
The workshop was designed to build community knowledge around material
culture and to bring participant voices together to promote understanding of fish
skin craft culture, with the aim of improve knowledge of fish skin craft to address
the pressing sustainability issues in the current fashion industry and to understand
the duty to change fashion systems through education, inculcating fashion students
with the values of sustainability. The workshop aimed to develop new fashion practices, taking students out of the classroom and into nature and contributing to the
learning experience about fashion sustainability. Another important aim was to
improve the awareness and protection of traditional Arctic fish skin culture. Students
learnt traditional fish skin handicraft heritage in order to integrate it into their fashion practice. According to Fletcher, participatory design and codesign structures are
key to changing fashion systems and to fostering lasting relationships between the
makers and the final product (Fletcher 2018). The workshop’s main objectives
were to:
• Map existing traditional knowledge of fish skin craft from the Sami ethnic minority in the Arctic
• Build an interdisciplinary collaborative network which intersects craftspeople
from Arctic ethnic minorities and higher education students to study fish skin
ancient traditions
• Preserve and disseminate Arctic cultural heritage connected with fish skin, promoting sustainable development of their unique craft culture
• Help higher education students develop fish skin leather samples as an environmentally responsible alternative material for fashion
• Enhance the visibility and attractiveness of fish skin leather as a new sustainable
material for Nordic fashion students
• Bring together sustainable methods from fashion design and traditional crafts to
foster international knowledge exchange that will develop the capacity for practice in these fields
• Identify tools about best practice on fish skin leather craft and test the ideas at
higher education fashion institutions in the Arctic and internationally, supporting
15 SDG 14 Life Below Water
with a history of fish skin leather production, such as Iceland, Sweden, Finland and
Denmark, preserving and using fish skin cultural heritage and strengthening networking activity.
The workshop took place in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland, and combined learning about
traditional knowledge on fish skin tanning with studying the technological progress
of the Icelandic tannery Atlantic Leather, which has been turning local fish skin into
highly sustainable leather since 1994. A total of ten students from universities in the
circumpolar area (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland) and the UK benefited from
the workshop. A Swedish craftsperson from the Sami ethnic minority delivered the
workshop. Lotta Rhame shared traditional Sami fish skin tanning methods and
passed down the endangered fish skin craft to the next generation of Nordic students
as part of a sustainable fashion higher education programme to learn best practices
for social change and sustainability. The programme included preparation, implementation, evaluation and a follow-up phase.
The workshop was designed to build community knowledge around material
culture and to bring participant voices together to promote understanding of fish
skin craft culture, with the aim of improve knowledge of fish skin craft to address
the pressing sustainability issues in the current fashion industry and to understand
the duty to change fashion systems through education, inculcating fashion students
with the values of sustainability. The workshop aimed to develop new fashion practices, taking students out of the classroom and into nature and contributing to the
learning experience about fashion sustainability. Another important aim was to
improve the awareness and protection of traditional Arctic fish skin culture. Students
learnt traditional fish skin handicraft heritage in order to integrate it into their fashion practice. According to Fletcher, participatory design and codesign structures are
key to changing fashion systems and to fostering lasting relationships between the
makers and the final product (Fletcher 2018). The workshop’s main objectives
were to:
• Map existing traditional knowledge of fish skin craft from the Sami ethnic minority in the Arctic
• Build an interdisciplinary collaborative network which intersects craftspeople
from Arctic ethnic minorities and higher education students to study fish skin
ancient traditions
• Preserve and disseminate Arctic cultural heritage connected with fish skin, promoting sustainable development of their unique craft culture
• Help higher education students develop fish skin leather samples as an environmentally responsible alternative material for fashion
• Enhance the visibility and attractiveness of fish skin leather as a new sustainable
material for Nordic fashion students
• Bring together sustainable methods from fashion design and traditional crafts to
foster international knowledge exchange that will develop the capacity for practice in these fields
• Identify tools about best practice on fish skin leather craft and test the ideas at
higher education fashion institutions in the Arctic and internationally, supporting
15 SDG 14 Life Below Water