ENLIGHTENMENT
A spiritual gift by Lidewij Edelkoort to begin 2026 with light
Tuesday, 6th of January — The Epiphany
Attendance: Free
7:30 AM –9:00 AM West Coast PST
10:30 AM –12:00 PM New York EST
16:30–18:00 Paris CET
Never before have people felt so pummelled and abandoned. Society at large is at a loss with ever-increasing tensions between rich and poor, man and woman, young and old, intellectual and worker, white and black. We feel pain for our planet and anger for future generations. We feel helpless when faced with multiple dictators, governing their countries like Banana Republics. We feel outrage at the sacrificing of black lives, the shooting of our kids, or the killing of innocent people. Our neighbour is our enemy, our teacher is our nemesis, our country is our curse, and how will we avoid civil war?
These words above were part of a forecast by Lidewij Edelkoort almost a decade ago and still ring true in 2026. You are invited to experience ENLIGHTENMENT, a free presentation of these thoughts within new contexts, reaching for answers about ourselves and the future. More than ever, the loss of religion and tradition has left people without a chance to congregate, celebrate or find solace. Therefore, join us for an engaging hour of visual inspiration and thought-provoking reflections, spanning mindfulness and manifestation, consciousness and minimalism, animism and voodoo, east and west, mysticism and the occult — all key trends that remain at the forefront of fashion, culture and society today.
Lidewij Edelkoort is arguably the world's most renowned trend forecaster, working in industries from fashion to food, design, architecture, tech, communication, automotive and retail. Founded in 1986, her company Trend Union produces trend tools for strategists, designers and marketers at brands from Zara to Prada. She is also a publisher, humanitarian, educator and exhibition curator. Edelkoort has been named one of the Most Influential People in Fashion and one of the Most Influential People in Design. Written in 2014, her much-talked about ANTI_FASHION Manifesto was the first to raise awareness about the shifts and upheavals currently experienced in the global fashion industry. From 1998-2008 she was Chairwoman of Design Academy Eindhoven before moving to New York from 2015-2020 where she was Dean of Hybrid Design Studies at Parsons, establishing an MFA Textile masters and New York Textile Month. In 2020, in response to the covid-19 pandemic, she co-founded the World Hope Forum as a platform to inspire the creative community to rebuild a better society. Edelkoort's latest publications include Proud South (2020), Uxua Utopia (2022), and Proud South Craft (2025), each of which celebrate the creative talent of the Global South.