DECOLONISING FASHION
I’m JC, London-based Visual Artist, and this is “Decolonising Fashion”, a project in which I partnered with the London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London, and with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion to investigate and value the lived experiences of refugees in East London in relation to the themes of cultural sustainability and community resilience in order to inform the future development of a framework for decolonised fashion design practice.
Together with the participants, we created personalised portraits that were printed on cotton canvas and customised with different arts and crafts techniques through which they expressed their cultural heritage and reflected on their personal experiences as refugees. The final pieces were mounted on embroidery hoops and will be exhibited later this year in a showcase that aims to celebrate the resilience and determination of this community.
The final pieces were mounted on embroidery hoops and are exhibited until 19 January 2024 at the new campus in Stratford in a showcase that aims to celebrate the resilience and determination of this community.
Through interviews conducted by Dr Francesco Mazzarella, and storytelling and group activities run by textile artist Alisa Ruzavina that involved working with textiles, clothes and accessories owned or inherited, we collected stories of cultural heritage and community resilience to understand the fashion and textile design and making skills of the participants, and collectively outline visions for a sustainable future. This project intended to contribute to amplifying the voice and agency of refugees, re-examining design research methods, and advancing a cultural sustainability agenda within a fashion and textile industry context.
In the words of Dr Mazzarella: “By giving voice and agency to migrants and refugees, new lessons of community resilience can be drawn from people’s lived experiences. Especially in the face of our collective uncertain future, we need to shape a more inclusive and resilient fashion system, one that supports more fulfilling and flourishing relationships between ourselves and with the beautiful material culture that we wear.”
This project was possible thanks to the support from Poplar Harca, Love Welcomes, Hackney Migrant Centre and Flotsam Sessions.