Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, an associate professor and coordinator of the Fashion Design program at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, will discuss the current state of sustainable fashion as part of TEDx St. Louis Women: Two Steps Forward.

An authority on how technology shapes fashion innovation, Ruppert-Stroescu is one of six speakers at this year’s conference. Her talk, “It’s a never-ending quest: Sustainable fashion solutions and the problems they create,” will examine both the cultural value and environmental costs of the fashion industry, and evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies for mitigating those costs.

The event will begin at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. For tickets or more information, visit tedxsaintlouis.org.