Shifting Narratives: Reciprocal Making and Learning through Fashion and Textiles

This booklet illustrates the content showcased in the 'Shifting Narratives' exhibition which celebrates the work of ‘Decolonising Fashion and Textiles – Design for Cultural Sustainability with Refugee Communities’, a collaborative project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by Dr Francesco Mazzarella (Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, UAL) across three east London boroughs (Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest) from 2022 to 2024. With the mass displacement of people on the rise, Shifting Narratives responds to the urgent demand to address the diverse needs and aspirations of refugee communities, whilst valuing and sustaining their cultural heritages and craft skills. This exhibition challenges dominant design practice and brings to the forefront the stories of refugees and their collective visions for a more equitable and sustainable future. In the fashion industry, the textile heritage of minorities has often been ‘othered’, appropriated or undervalued as 'non-fashion'. Instead, the project offers a safe space for refugee participants from different walks of life to meet with each other, learn new skills, and use fashion and textiles to build a new life in their place of resettlement. The works in the exhibition were created by refugees and asylum seekers from both the UK and Indonesia and students from University of the Arts London, Institute of Technology of Bandung and University Gadjah Mada. They contribute to shifting prevailing narratives, highlighting the socio-cultural practices of refugees who play a crucial role in shaping the diverse social fabric of a place, whilst building resilient communities and fostering cultural sustainability.