MATTEO WARD draws on his experience as an entrepreneur, designer and activist for a fairer system to lead an interactive workshop designed for fashion design students, startup founders, entrepreneurs, brand managers, strategists and sustainability professionals in the fashion industry looking to integrate sustainable development principles into their business plans. Participants will be provided a guideline to strengthen the relevance of their design projects by embedding environmental and social functionality into their brand’s core operations. The goal is to understand the fundamentals of sustainable development in fashion; identify and prioritize sustainability goals using the Design Function frameworks; learn how to align sustainability with brand identity and business objectives; and gain insights from case studies of leading fashion and interior design projects.

MATTEO WARD is an Italian entrepreneur, sustainability advocate, and CEO of IO Fashion Textiles Home. Best known as the CEO and co-founder of WRÅD, Matteo serves as Vice President of Fashion Revolution Italia and is part of their Education team. In 2023, he co-authored and hosted "JUNK," a docu-series by Sky Italia and Will Media. In 2024, he published his first book, FUORIMODA!, with DeAgostini Mondadori. As a Food Hero, he worked with FAO on a children's activity book.