Unlocking Circularity via Europe’s Emerging Conversations with EKIP

As Europe’s fashion ecosystem moves from awareness to action, one question remains: how is this transition actually unfolding on the ground?

Ahead of EKIP’s Policy Lab in Milan on 29th October, Nextatlas conducted a data-driven exploration of Europe’s creative community to uncover the real conversations shaping fashion’s transformation. The goal was to move beyond surface-level sustainability claims and provide a snapshot of the cultural and systemic tensions at play, the ones that will most influence how policy can enable, not just regulate, the next phase of the industry.

How We Looked at Fashion’s Transition

Using our AI-powered foresight platform, we analysed conversations from over 300,000 early adopters and creative practitioners across Instagram, YouTube, Behance, and X, identifying emerging weak signals around fashion’s transition and eco-design. This custom scan focused specifically on Europe’s creative community; the designers, makers, and innovators often the first to express cultural and technological shifts before they reach the mainstream.

Four Major Themes Emerged

Our analysis revealed four key conversation clusters that define the current mood of the transition:

• Circularity & Sustainable Processes – Creatives are pushing beyond incremental steps like capsule collections or resale platforms. The call is for a deeper shift: circular fashion must break free from overproduction and the logic of constant growth.
• Supply Chain Transparency – Despite widespread sustainability messaging, opacity persists. Many brands still face a disconnect between their marketing narratives and on-the-ground production realities.
• Consumer Education (and Contradiction) – Awareness is rising, yet ultrafast fashion continues to thrive. This paradox signals that information alone isn’t enough — education must be coupled with structural accessibility and systemic change.
• Digitalisation & Data Impact (DPP) – The arrival of Digital Product Passports represents both a regulatory challenge and a creative opportunity, especially for SMEs using them as tools for transparency and storytelling.

The Rise of the “Enoughness Era”

Among the cultural signals detected, a clear shift in mindset is taking shape. From TikTok’s #NoBuyChallenge to Burberry’s Remake initiative, consumers are entering what we call the Enoughness Era: buying less, repairing more, and valuing longevity over novelty. This evolution is reshaping not only consumer behaviour but the very definition of what progress looks like in fashion.

As Debora Bae, Head of Insights at Nextatlas, notes:

“By analysing both the needs of creative practitioners and consumer behaviour, we realize they face the same fundamental challenge in fashion: turning good intentions into genuine action.”

Why It Matters for EKIP's Policy Lab

These insights provide EKIP and its partners with a diagnostic lens on the real tensions shaping Europe’s fashion transition, helping to co-create policy that enables change rather than merely regulating it.

The EKIP Policy Lab #9 at the Politecnico di Milano on 29 October 2025, will focus on how the European creative community can unlock circularity within the fashion and creative industries. Gathering policymakers, researchers, and creative professionals, the session aims to translate complex ecosystem needs into actionable policy frameworks that support innovation, transparency, and sustainable growth.

Our Partnership with EKIP

Nextatlas’ contribution to this Policy Lab continues a broader collaboration with EKIP, following projects such as “Platformisation of the Music Industry” and “New Jobs Ahead in the Cultural and Creative Sector.” Across these initiatives, our shared goal remains constant: to bring real-time creative data and early cultural signals into Europe’s policymaking process, ensuring that the future of culture, fashion, and innovation is built on insight, not assumption.

Trend lines, data, and information described in this article emerge from the ongoing analysis performed by Nextatlas on its global observation pool made of innovators, early adopters, industry insiders expressing their views on Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit.

To learn more about our AI, discover Nextatlas Methodology here