Introducing: The 1 Granary TENCEL™ Club
Last year, TENCEL™ helped launch a virtual community with 1 Granary—the leading global fashion education platform and creative network dedicated to empowering the next generation of creative talent and driving positive change in the fashion industry. The 1 Granary TENCEL™ Club connects recent fashion design graduates with industry professionals to exchange knowledge, ideas and advice.
This is the premise: An expert is invited into a private chat group where grads worldwide can ask their burning questions over a period of 24 hours. Over the coming months, we will share the highlights from the most insightful conversations here. But, first, we speak with Olya Kuryshchuk, 1 Granary’s founder and editor-in-chief, about the project and the state of the industry.
Lenzing: Olya, can you share some of your background? What inspired you to launch 1 Granary?
Olya: I launched 1 Granary while studying design at Central Saint Martins because I felt there was a huge gap between students, emerging designers and the wider industry. Fashion education can often feel disconnected from the realities of building a sustainable career, and I wanted to create a platform that bridges that gap—offering visibility, knowledge and support to young designers.
What started as a student-led magazine evolved into a leading fashion education platform, recruitment agency, incubator and community that highlights talent, challenges industry norms and pushes for a more sustainable, fair and creative future.
Lenzing: Can you tell us about some of the guests/experts you had for the 1 Granary TENCEL™ Club? How did you select them?
Olya: We invited experts who are deeply embedded in the industry—those who have firsthand experience navigating its challenges and are actively working towards change. Some of our guests included Victor Juul from Heliot Emil and Charles Jeffrey, whose brands have become a case study in independent success, and creative directors such as Kris van Assche and Achilles Ion Gabriel. The selection process was simple: We chose people whose insights would be the most valuable to young designers, whether in terms of business acumen, creative direction or sustainability. We wanted to offer perspectives that are honest, realistic and practical—not just Inspirational.
Lenzing: What did you think were some of the most interesting questions the community asked?
Olya: The best questions always come from a place of raw curiosity and a desire to make things work. Some of the most interesting ones revolved around how to navigate the gap between graduation and building a viable career, how to scale a brand without compromising creativity and sustainability values and what practical steps designers can take to secure financial stability.
There were also great discussions around the dominance of conglomerates, whether independent brands still have a chance and how to balance artistic integrity with commercial realities. These questions show that young designers are not just thinking about aesthetics—they’re thinking strategically about their future.
Lenzing: Let us also ask you the question you asked all of the experts of this series: On a scale of 0 to 10, where is the fashion industry in terms of the changes it must achieve?
Olya: Right now, I’d say we’re at a three or four. There’s a lot of discussion, and some steps have been taken, but real structural change is still incredibly slow. The industry is still dominated by a handful of players who control production, media and retail, making it difficult for new voices to emerge.
There’s also a huge contradiction: We talk about sustainability, yet the system is still designed for overproduction and short-term profits. Until business models shift fundamentally—rather than just tweaking things around the edges—we’ll be stuck in a cycle of surface-level change.
Lenzing: What, in your opinion, are some of the biggest challenges facing young designers today?
Olya: The biggest challenge is that the industry is not built for independent designers to survive, let alone thrive. The barriers to entry are incredibly high—production costs, fabric minimums, lack of access to funding and the dominance of big players who control manufacturing, distribution and media.
Another major challenge is the pressure to constantly create and stay relevant in a system that doesn’t financially sustain young designers. Many are forced into a cycle of overworking without a clear pathway to financial stability. Additionally, media and retail spaces are shrinking. Independent designers don’t have the same avenues to showcase their work, and with conglomerates monopolizing digital and physical spaces, it’s harder than ever to get visibility.
Lenzing: If you could choose one decisive action that would make a difference to the industry, what would it be?
Olya: I’d completely restructure how brands are financed. The traditional wholesale model, where designers take on the financial risk upfront and only get paid months later—if at all—is broken. If we want a more diverse and creative industry, we need funding structures that allow independent brands to grow without being crushed by debt. Imagine a system where designers are paid fairly and upfront, where production minimums aren’t dictated by massive factories and where talent—not just financial backing—determines success. That would change everything.
Lenzing: Finally, let’s leave on a positive note. What do you feel hopeful or optimistic about regarding progress being made in the industry?
Olya: What gives me hope is the resilience and innovation of young designers. Despite all the challenges, they keep pushing forward, finding alternative ways to build their brands—through digital platforms, direct-to-consumer models and community-driven initiatives.
I’m also optimistic about the growing conversations around accountability. More people are questioning how the industry operates, and while change is slow, there is a shift in awareness. There’s also a renewed appreciation for craftsmanship, slower production and brands with a real point of view, which could pave the way for a better, more sustainable future. The industry is at a breaking point, but that also means we have an opportunity to build something new. And that’s exciting.