Anne Prahl

Anne is the founder and innovation director of the collaborative innovation platform and consultancy Circular Concept Lab which specialises in creating, developing, and implementing impact-driven circular design tools and industry solutions for sportswear and fashion. The company works with a diverse selection of partners including brands, material and technology start-ups, textile and clothing manufacturers, investors, academia, and other organisations to develop and commercialise new materials, technologies, products, manufacturing processes, and business models.

Anne brings a wealth of experience from more than 25 years in the global sports and fashion industry where she has worked in senior design positions for companies including Nike, Puma, Marks & Spencer, Ellesse, and trend forecaster WGSN. In 2007, Anne decided to pursue her passion for sustainable design and material innovation and embarked on the MA Design for Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins, which enabled her to build an impressive portfolio of ground-breaking projects, including a unique collaboration with Speedo to explore the reuse, recycling, and remanufacture of 18,000 banned LZR Racer suits and other performance swimwear. Anne is also the co-inventor and co-creator of WRAP’s Clothing Knowledge Hub, an industry-first open-source tool for designers and has worked in an advisory capacity for various industry organisations including The Microfibre Consortium, WRAP, The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD), and Better World Collective.

Anne also holds a practice-based PhD from London College of Fashion where she explored the research, design, and making of sustainable materials for wearable sensors which can support a preventative health approach.