The GFFC is a holistic, multi-stakeholder, pre-competitive forum for knowledge exchange, pooling deep and diverse footwear expertise from key groups across the industry:
Brands and retailers
Designers, craft makers and manufacturers
Industry federations
Academic, research and cultural bodies
NGOs
How We Work With Our Community :
Knowledge exchange events
Building on the success of the GFFC launch symposium, we are launching Common Room, our knowledge exchange event programme
Collaborative initiatives
Working with public and private sector partners on value-adding research, thought leadership and bespoke projects to support footwear industry transformation
Meet The Team
“The Global Future Footwear Coalition strives for a future where footwear isn’t just worn, but woven into the fabric of innovation, and economic, cultural, social and environmental sustainability.”
Darla-Jane Gilroy is a strategic leader, academic, futurologist, author and consultant specialising in fashion, footwear and accessories. Her career brings together industry, higher education and innovation, with recognised expertise in brand building, future scenario planning and product innovation.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins, Darla began her career by founding and building an international fashion label. Her work has been featured in major global fashion publications and exhibited at leading cultural institutions including the V&A, the Fashion and Textile Museum and the Design Museum. She has advised organisations on cultural forecasting and consumer behaviour, with clients including McCann, Unilever and LVMH.
As Co-Founder of the Global Footwear Future Coalition, Darla helps shape the organisation’s vision and long-term direction, bringing together industry, researchers, designers, policymakers and innovators to explore the forces shaping the future of footwear.
Darla has held senior academic and leadership positions at London College of Fashion, the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins, where she is currently Associate Dean of Knowledge Exchange. She has delivered keynote lectures and invited talks for organisations including the Louise Blouin Foundation, the ICA and the Design Museum, and is the author of several books including Fashion Bags and Accessories.
GFFC Co Founder
“The time is perfect for the GFFC. Creative innovation comes from lo to hi tech solutions from all stakeholders engaging in meaningful dialogue followed by action.”
Liz Ciokajlo’s work brings together design, research and education, with a focus on materials, making processes and the future of footwear. With a background in product, furniture and fashion accessory design, she draws on experience across industry, academia and collaborative research to explore how design and material innovation can support more sustainable approaches to footwear.
As Co-Founder of the Global Footwear Future Coalition, Liz helps shape the organisation’s direction and international network, connecting researchers, educators and industry partners around shared opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
Alongside her role as Senior Lecturer at the University of the Arts London, Liz has worked on consultancy, commissioned projects, funded research and collaborative initiatives with organisations including C&J Clarks International, King’s College London, Innovate UK, Arts Council England and UAL’s Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology programme.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Venice Triennale and the Design Museum in London, and has been recognised through awards, publications and international speaking engagements. Her work continues to explore the relationship between materials, design practice, emerging technologies and the future of footwear.
GFFC Co-Founder
“The GFFC is an opportunity to solve problems bigger than any one organisation, helping to bridge the gap between stakeholder groups and bring systemic, meaningful change to the industry“
Joe Kearins works at the intersection of strategy, innovation and industry collaboration, with over a decade of experience helping organisations navigate growth, customer change, new business models and emerging technologies. His work spans consulting, education and industry, where he has helped develop new initiatives, build partnerships and bring together organisations around shared opportunities for change.
As Co-Founder of the Global Footwear Future Coalition, Joe helps shape the organisation’s strategy, growth and development, focusing on how the coalition can connect industry, startups, education, research, investors and more to support the future of footwear.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe led the creation of the University of the Arts London Graduate Showcase platform, developed in response to the cancellation of physical graduate shows and viewed by audiences across 147 countries. He continues to work closely with academic and industry communities, has contributed to the textbook Merchandising: Principles & Practice, and has supported advisory boards, innovation programmes and collaborative initiatives focused on the future of consumer industries.
GFFC Co Founder
“GFFC is a long overdue resource. Footwear and its associated industries is a growing area which requires very specific skills, from design through to manufacture, and yet it does not attract the same recognition as the fashion industry”
Sarah Byfield-Riches is a strategic partnerships leader whose career has focused on building connections between education, industry and culture. She combines creative insight, commercial expertise and extensive sector relationships to develop new initiatives, secure investment and create lasting impact.
After working with the School of Fashion at the Royal College of Art, Sarah became Head of Business Development at London College of Fashion, UAL. Over 18 years, she led commercial partnerships, knowledge exchange and fundraising activity across the college, with a particular focus on footwear and accessories, tailoring, fashion business and cosmetic science. Entrepreneurship and sustainability were central themes throughout her work.
As Co-Founder of the Global Footwear Future Coalition, Sarah helps shape the organisation’s strategic development and partnerships, supporting its growth as a global community of practice for the footwear sector.
Sarah is the founder of SBR Partnerships, launched in 2023 to build bespoke partnerships connecting industry and philanthropy with cultural, educational and charitable organisations. Before moving into fashion, she built partnerships across the wider creative industries, working with organisations including Tate, the Royal Academy, Southbank Centre, the Association of British Orchestras, TRAID (Textile Recycling to Aid International Development) and corporates BT, UBS and Sainsbury’s.
GFFC Co Founder
Friends of the GFFC
‘The GFFC brings a unique opportunity for the footwear industry, academic researchers and educators to combine forces and collectively tackle some of the 21st century’s biggest challenges.’
Dr. Alexandra Sherlock is a Fashion and Textiles Lecturer at RMIT University, Melbourne. With over 15 years’ experience in higher education and research, she’s an internationally recognised leading authority in footwear studies, renowned for her work on footwear, fashion, identity, sustainability, and circularity. In 2020, she founded the Footwear Research Network to advance footwear studies and bridge academia with industry.
As a socio-cultural anthropologist, Alex’s work explores the intricate relationship between footwear and identity. Her research considers how a deeper understanding of the social and cultural significance of footwear or the ‘social lives of shoes’ can inform ethical and sustainable practices, and authentic brand strategies within the footwear industry.
Alex is a member of the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion and the Australian Anthropological Society. Her doctoral research, conducted in partnership with Clarks International, will be published as a book by Bloomsbury Academic between late 2025-early 2026.
GFFC Founding Member
“I instinctively loved the idea behind GFFC; its about time we connect the dots across our industry and work collaboratively to tackle the most pressing environmental and social challenges in the utmost challenging sector within the fashion ecosystem – footwear.”
Sven Segal is an award-winning entrepreneur and a sustainable shoe design pioneer who started developing his first ethically made biodegradable shoe line in 2003 – following an overdose of involuntary glue sniffing and uncovering widespread exploitative and polluting practices at shoe factories he visited.
In pursuit of social and environmental wellbeing, Sven has founded one of the first eco-conscious shoe brands which he ran for 15 years. Thanks to the creation of highly considered products like a glueless shoe construction, an adaptable coconut fibre foot-mattress, a compostable shoebox that doubled up as a seed tray, and edible shoe cream, Sven’s work attracted some iconic brands over the years which resulted in co-branded collaborations; in 2010 he developed two circular shoe collections for Timberland which were designed for disassembly with a takeback scheme. A few years later he commercialised the footwear worn by the Star Wars sequel trilogy main characters, which were crafted with bio-based and renewable materials.
To take his life mission a step further, Sven founded the Better Shoes Foundation in 2016 as a not-for-profitknowledge-sharing platform to shine a light on best practice, connect brands and producers with relevant sustainability data, credible service providers, and low-impact material suppliers.
GFFC Founding Advisor