Call for submissions

Emphasises merging nature-inspired innovation with a commitment to global civic responsibility. This subtheme explores how fashion can draw inspiration from the natural world by integrating ecological design principles into creative practices.

• How can localism and decentralised production disrupt a global industry? How might exploring diverse cultural roots contribute to a creative fashion ecosystem that honours and traditional knowledge and practices? 
• How can we transition from passive consumption to active engagement, where fashion becomes a cultural and communal practice rather than a commodity? How can we empower the community of practice to planetary stewardship?
• How can we design fashion that actively restores and regenerates ecosystems rather than simply minimising harm?
• In what ways can bioregional design strategies (e.g. regenerative farming, local fibre ecosystems) contribute to resilient fashion systems?

Highlights the transformation of fashion education through community-driven, regenerative and civic-focused methodologies. This subtheme invites discussion on innovative pedagogies that merge traditional craft with forward-thinking, regenerative practices.

• How can we learn from community-led initiatives to un-learn and re-build fashion industry standards to better reflect local values and regenerative practices?
• How can we develop innovative pedagogies for creative learning experiences and collaborative knowledge exchange to cultivate unconventional approaches to fashion education? 
• How can fashion education critically enable students and professionals to lead inclusive fashion narratives? How can we collaboratively exchange knowledge between educators and industry practitioners for new approaches to learning?

Aims to uncover ways technology can reconfigure the fashion industry, democratise fashion and strengthen civic participation in sustainable transformations and drive a shift from conventional practices to regenerative, community-centric models.

• How can technology lead regenerative industry transformation, overcoming barriers of perpetuating ‘business as usual’?
• In what ways can Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) be integrated with modern technology to co-create localised, regenerative fashion systems?
• How can inclusive and accessible technologies ensure that all stakeholders can participate in and benefit from fashion innovations? How can we enable democratic digital closeness of the social fashion system?
• In what ways can regenerative business practices and processes innovate beyond conventional sustainability approaches towards regenerative design systems?

Bridges local cultural storytelling with broader planetary stewardship, underscoring the role of community voices in global sustainability. This subtheme examines how local cultural narratives and intergenerational knowledge can influence and reinforce a collective commitment to planetary stewardship and regenerative design at a global scale.

• How can we learn with local communities to centre their voices and unique perspectives to build alternative fashion futures?
• How can authentic cultural storytelling reshape global perceptions of fashion, identity, community and sustainability? What role does cultural heritage and intergenerational knowledge play in shaping local and regional fashion narratives and sustainable practices?
• How can local fashion balance economic viability and social justice with a commitment to planetary stewardship?
• In what ways can reconnecting with localised fashion practices contribute to building resilient and sustainable fashion systems globally?

Abstracts are required for all submissions and are to be submitted by 1 July 2025. To facilitate evaluation, authors are requested to indicate which subtheme(s) their abstract addresses and identify themselves as senior faculty, early career researcher or doctoral researcher. Please be aware that full papers will be due by 18 November 2025.

Abstract guidelines

• Title
• Subtheme and 5 keywords entered below the title
• Format (e.g. text-based paper, developmental paper, creative practice or workshop)
• The Abstract should be 300 – 500 words in English not including subtheme(s) and keywords
• 12 pt. Type, Times New Roman
• 2.5cm / 1-inch margins all around
• Abstracts must be submitted in Microsoft Word
• A separate word file containing your 100-word bio per author, affiliation and head shot

In addition, for creative practice-based submissions (film, image, artefacts, performances) your abstract should include these details:

• Submit one or more images that enable a review committee to fully understand your proposal. Images should be in an attachment up to 10MB. If the file is larger, please use a link to it (Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive).
• Research work in creative practice encompasses all types of film, image, artefacts, and performances. However, the final display format is an mp4 video file. The videos of practice-based submissions will be displayed on a show reel of work during the conference. 

• Abstracts and Papers for the IFFTI 2026 Conference will be selected through a blind peer review process. The IFFTI research committee and the conference organisers will appoint reviewers for the process.
• Contributors will be invited to submit their final work after acceptance of their Abstract. Text-based full and developmental papers will go to a further review before acceptance.

Full papers

Full papers should comply with all the following requirements:

• Authors are required to submit full papers by 18 November 2025
• Full papers should be submitted as a Microsoft Word file, 12 point, Times New Roman font, with page numbers at bottom of page, and 1-inch (2.5 cm) margins, A4 size.
• Papers should be 3,000-5,000 words in length in English. They should be written as continuous narrative in a chapter or article style - not as lists of points or a PowerPoint presentation
• Harvard referencing system referencing should be used. Please refer to the template provided.
• Please see paper template guide for text, style, structure of your text and use of images.
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy of citations, quotations, diagrams, tables and maps.
• Papers should be thoroughly checked and proof-read before submission.
• Authors will be notified about acceptance of papers by 20 January 2026. Any papers that are incorrectly formatted or missing information may be rejected so please pay close attention to the submission requirements.
• Papers will be published in a fully referred Conference Proceedings, provided the author (or one of the authors) attends the conference to present their work.

Developmental papers

The purpose of this category is to enable authors to discuss their work whilst it is in its developmental stage, so comments and feedback obtained at the event can be incorporated in the final stages of research and writing up.

Developmental papers should comply with the following requirements:

• Authors are required to submit developmental papers by 18 November 2025
• Developmental papers should be 1000-2000 words (excluding tables and references). They should be written as continuous narrative in a chapter or article style, not as lists of points or a PowerPoint presentation and should explain the work to date and proposed future development.
• Papers should be submitted as a Microsoft Word file, 12 point, Times New Roman font, with page numbers at bottom of page, and 1-inch (2.5cm) margins, A4 size.
• Please do not make a submission of less than 1000 words as it will be automatically rejected; below this word count there is insufficient material on which to base a decision. A substantive amount of the paper or concept should therefore be in place.
• Developmental paper submissions will be included in the conference proceedings following further review and provided the author has been in attendance to present.

For practice-based submissions

• Work should be submitted with a brief textual description (maximum 200 words) as a Microsoft Word file.
• Visual submissions over 10MB should be submitted with a link (Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, YouTube) due to limitations of uploading file size.
• Research work in creative practice encompasses all types of film, image, artefacts, and performances. However, the final display format is an mp4 video file. The videos of practice-based submissions will be displayed on a show reel of work during the conference. 
• The length of the finalised video to be included in the show reel should be 3 minutes or less.

Workshops

We invite colleagues to propose interactive workshops that align with one of the conference subthemes. 1- or 2-hour workshop sessions are available. There should be at least two facilitators for the workshop, and one must be affiliated with an IFFTI institution.

• Facilitators are required to submit the abstract by 1 July 2025 and if accepted, the full proposal by 18 November 2025
• Workshop proposals should be 1000-2000 words and include the facilitators' names and institutions, the conference subtheme, the workshop topic, the objectives of the workshop. Please submit your proposal as a Microsoft Word file.
• Specific Format Requirements: Facilitators will be allocated a session of 1 hour or 2 hours to hold their workshop. In addition to the topic of the workshop and a statement about why this is likely to be of interest, submissions should specify who will lead the session, the mechanisms by which this will happen, spatial / room set up and any other requirements.
• Workshops that are accepted after reviewing process and run at the conference will be included in the conference proceedings, provided a reportable outcome is submitted using the template provided.
• Interactive workshops could include a discussion, a hands-on practice-based exploration, a provocation etc.

Copyright

All papers presented at the Conference will be published. At the time of submission of full papers, authors are required to undertake a copyright agreement with IFFTI and the host institution. The text of this agreement will be available at the 2026 IFFTI Conference website.

At least one author from each accepted submission must register to attend the IFFTI 2026 Conference by 23 February 2026. Accepted papers without at least one registered author will be withdrawn and will not be included in the conference proceedings. After this point withdrawn submissions will not be reinstated.

Presenter information 

If your paper is selected for presentation, the conference organisers are required to register your details with the Vietnamese government. For this reason, passport information is collected confidentially and used solely for presenter verification purposes. Submission of this information does not guarantee acceptance.

Presentation formats and timing

• Full papers: 20-minute presentation and 10-minute discussion
• Developmental papers: 10-minute presentation and 5-minute discussion
• Workshops: 1–2 hour sessions (to be confirmed post-approval)

The official presentation schedule, including individual time slots, will be published on the IFFTI 2026 website by 12 April 2026.

• Authors can make changes for the submissions up until the respective deadlines:
  • Abstracts: 1 July 2025
  • Full papers: 18 November 2025
• Authors may add or remove co-authors at any point before the abstract submission deadline. Any author listed on a submission is permitted to complete the submission process, provided all co-authors have given their approval. 
• Authors may submit multiple entries, but a separate submission form must be completed for each paper or proposal. 

• Research students registered on a doctoral programme (leading to a PhD or Professional Doctorate or equivalent) up to the point of notification of their achievement
• The author or at least one of the authors in a multi-authored submission must present their work at the conference
• The lead author must come from an IFFTI institution
• The lead author’s Institution has paid its fees to IFFTI (current and past years)
• The lead author has not received an award within the past two years
• Up to 2 awards may be made of US$2000 each and registration to the 2026 IFFTI conference paid by IFFTI

• Academics who achieved a doctoral qualification or were contracted to a higher education institution in a teaching/research role, within the previous five years of the date of the initial call for conference submissions*
• The author or at least one of the authors in a multi-authored submission must present their work at the conference
• The lead author must come from an IFFTI institution
• The lead author’s Institution has paid its fees to IFFTI (current and past years)
• The lead author has not received an award within the past two years
• Up to 5 awards may be made of US$2000 each and registration to the 2026 IFFTI conference paid by IFFTI

• Academics at a higher education institution who have been contracted in a teaching/research role for more than five years or took their doctoral qualification for more than five years since the date of the initial call for conference submissions *
• Have an established research profile within a higher education institution
• The author or at least one of the authors in a multi-authored submission must present their work at the conference
• The lead author must come from an IFFTI institution
• The lead author’s Institution has paid its fees to IFFTI (current and past years)
• The lead author has not received an award within the past two years
• Up to 2 awards may be made of US$2000 each and registration to the 2026 IFFTI conference paid by IFFTI

• IFFTI Chair Presentation award for an outstanding oral presentation, judged by peers at the conference
• Up to 2 awards may be made of US$1000 each and registration to the 2026 IFFTI conference paid by IFFTI
• The lead author must come from an IFFTI institution
• The lead author's Institution has paid its fees to IFFTI (current and past years)