Graduate Fashion Foundation & zalando launch the Circularity Masterclass Programme for 2025/26
We are proud to announce the launch of the Circularity Masterclass 2025/26 programme, created in partnership with Zalando, Europe’s leading online multi-brand fashion destination.
The Circularity Masterclass is a five-part educational platform that 11 European and UK fashion schools, including the Scandinavian Academy of Fashion Design, Marangoni Fashion Institute in Milan, Manchester Fashion Institute, Leeds Arts University, BSP Berlin, IED Barcelona, and others are undertaking between September 2025 and March 2026. For the first time, the Circularity Masterclass will also be made available to the GFF’s 30 UK member universities in order to expand its reach and impact.
“With this programme, we are empowering future designers to drive fashion’s transformation by placing circularity and sustainability at the core of their design process - while giving them the freedom to learn at their own pace and apply theory with hands-on experimentation. ”
Following a successful programme run in 2024 with five European fashion schools, the Circularity Masterclass is expanding its participating cohort to 11 partner universities in 2025/26. Students will submit a design competition entry and one winning student from each university will win a trip to London for Graduate Fashion Week 2026, where they will present their submission and an overall winner will be crowned by a panel of industry judges.
The Masterclass can be found at thecircularitymasterclass.com (please note: access to the course is by invitation only).
The ambition of the Circularity Masterclass is to support students and universities through the industry’s sustainability transformation. By inspiring and educating the next generation of fashion design talent, students will develop the necessary skills to be part of a more positive future for fashion. The project fuses theoretical and practical aspects alongside real-life case studies that support a student’s understanding of the current linear fashion system and the circular economy.
During the Masterclass, students will learn about materials, construction, design for circularity, garment end-of-life, waste streams and more. The project culminates in a design competition for students to showcase their understanding of circular design theory.
One student from each university will be chosen as their school’s winner and will receive a trip to London in June 2026 to attend and participate in Graduate Fashion Week 2026. The shortlisted winners will present their winning submission to a panel of industry judges who will find an overall Circularity Masterclass winner for 2025/26. The overall winner will receive a 1-1 mentorship session with a renowned circular fashion designer.
“The Circularity Masterclass is a fantastic opportunity to harness the expertise of fashion industry leaders to inspire and educate students on the importance and relevance of circularity in fashion. The industry is rapidly changing and the current fashion students are the industry leaders of tomorrow. We’re proud to partner with Zalando and we’re excited to see what students create throughout this project.”
The content for the Circularity Masterclass was created by Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum from the British brand Teatum Jones, who are circular fashion practitioners and educators, alongside sustainable fashion journalist and consultant Megan Doyle.
For all enquiries about the Circularity Masterclass, contact Megan Doyle, project lead at megan@graduatefashionweek.com.