How East London Is Empowering Refugees Through Fashion
Last year, the UK’s conservative party was dethroned after fourteen years of political power. For those involved in immigration rights movements or citizens concerned about the unjust treatment of immigrant communities, the Labour Party stepping into power was an imperfect yet somewhat hopeful transition.
However, history teaches us that relying on politics alone seldom solves systemic issues. True activism often thrives in communities. Manifesting in pockets of hope that champion equality and celebrate the vibrant cultural diversity intrinsic to this country. It is an undeniable truth that immigration saves England every single day. The contributions of the Windrush generation, arriving to fill labour shortages since the 1960s, the multicultural staff of the NHS, and the eclectic immigrant-owned businesses across cities providing flavours, creativity, and intelligence that would be unimaginable without their existence.
& The Role of Cultural Sustainability in Migrant Integration
“At LCF, we want to use fashion to shape better lives. Fashion in the non-mainstream sense is an opportunity to reconnect, a tool to share stories, and dig deeper into feelings and emotions. Beyond what we wear, it is a form of cultural expression and valuable skills that can support livelihoods.”
Dr Francesco Mazzarella
London College of Fashion (LCF) in East London is among these pockets of hope. Here, the intersection of fashion and social change redefines what it means to welcome refugee communities into London through an innovative, action-driven research project. In 2022, LCF’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion, led by Dr Francesco Mazzarella, a Reader in Design for Social Change, embarked on a pivotal participatory action research exploring cultural sustainability and community resilience. The research project, titled “Decolonising Fashion and Textiles,” involved storytelling sessions and textile-based co-creation workshops that aimed to understand the realities of refugees in London. The project focused on mapping ways to build resilience within the local community while collectively framing a more sustainable future for the city. The project engaged forty-one participants with either refugee or asylum-seeking status from nineteen countries, some fleeing war, others fleeing gender-based violence, racial discrimination or religious or political oppression. They built new connections through their textile skills and stories to shape their experience in a new country. Textile photo stories representing their unique identities and experiences were created. Fashion artefacts designed and made by the project participants, plus fashion performances at the Victoria and Albert Museum were brought to life by this inspiring group, among many other actions that helped them navigate their shifting identities.
In Dr Mazzarella’s words: “We use fashion to respond to local issues. East London was once rich in making and textile heritage and continues to be a hub for many of London’s sustainable and ethical brands. On the other hand, many migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees struggle to integrate into the local community. While old making structures persist, they struggle to find a skilled workforce. What if there is potential to integrate and create opportunities for refugees while reviving that textile heritage?” East London’s textile heritage could support the communities it harbours through creative opportunities for refugees or asylum seekers. It could become a blueprint for true cultural sustainability in London by providing inclusive and creative integration opportunities.
Cultural sustainability is defined as a tolerant system that recognises and cultivates diversity of cultural heritage, beliefs, practices, and histories in connection with places, resources and ancestral lands. The project sought to challenge conventional research norms, avoiding the traditional colonial dynamic where Western designers impose solutions on marginalised communities, assuming that their knowledge alone can solve other people's problems. Instead, the participants were placed at the centre of the project.
The researchers became participants themselves, creating and collaborating alongside them. In this space, there was no co-opting of traditional craftsmanship knowledge from the participants without making them visible or putting their faces (quite literally) on their work, as seen in their textile autobiographies, for example. Cultural sustainability is brought to life by celebrating participants' skills and giving them credit for their work directly.
Weaving textiles to transform identities
One key insight of the project is the identity transformation through textile craftsmanship. The word "refugee" often carries negative connotations, clouded by societal misconceptions. In July 2024, the killing of a group of young girls in a dance studio in Southport inflamed societal tensions. It led to a race riot fueled by harmful narratives about refugees and immigrants exacerbated by social media. The project highlighted an unsurprising reality: many participants did not want to be associated with the term "refugee." They understood the weight of this label all too well. After arriving in a new country, many sought to shed their past identities to forge a new one to facilitate their integration. But what if where they are from, and who they are is precisely what this country needs?
Dr Mazzarella emphasises that the identities of refugees are ever shifting:
“They may not have many material possessions due to abrupt departures from their homes, but they bring with them an intact belief system, cultural heritage, and skillset that preserves their sense of belonging.”
The safe space created by the team at LCF allowed participants to express their values and skills freely. Many were eager to enhance their design and craft abilities, co-creating fashion and textile artefacts that illustrated their evolving identities and cultural heritage. Through workshops hosted across three East London boroughs, creations such as textile autobiographies and co-created textile banners were exhibited, and even used in public actions protesting the UK Illegal Migration Bill. This participation allows them to indirectly voice their opinions in public discourse, which is key to fostering their sense of belonging. Many find themselves living in contingency hotels, living on about £45 a week, with some women facing harassment. The project space created inspired them to see beyond their current circumstances and take pride in who they are. Participants began to foster a sentiment of pride, confidence, and hope.
One participant shared their experience: “You inspire and challenge my mind to explore different ways of thinking rather than just functionality. You plant seeds of inspiration in us.”
The fashion industry as a space of opportunity instead of exclusion
“At LCF, we want to use fashion to shape better lives. Fashion in the non-mainstream sense is an opportunity to reconnect, a tool to share stories, and dig deeper into feelings and emotions. Beyond what we wear, it is a form of cultural expression and valuable skills that can support livelihoods.” It’s something Dr. Mazzarella has witnessed through this project. The mainstream fashion industry often dilutes sustainability into greenwashing, with many brands making unfulfilled commitments while sticking to their exploitative business-as-usual practices. Expecting real change from the top-down in an industry more committed to profit than change is unrealistic.
Framing sustainability through the lived experiences of the project participants revealed new pathways towards a sustainable fashion future. It interrogates what a cultural approach might look like.
Participants have also been hired as creative workshop facilitators. One talented photographer even received a camera and the project team helped him rebuild his career as a photographer in London. Workshops at community arts organisations like Bow Arts and fashion performances at the Victoria and Albert Museum have empowered these individuals, instilling them with essential technical and soft skills.
However, the mainstream fashion industry has a long way to go. Dr Mazzarella poignantly highlights that, as it stands today, the industry lacks the flexibility to nurture vulnerable individuals like the project participants. It prioritises speed, efficiency, and elitism, which alienates many prospective talents, especially those from marginalised or vulnerable communities. The participants initially viewed fashion as an unattainable realm, devoid of inclusivity. Post-project, they now recognise that there is space for them where nurturing, ethical brands value people over profit.
By marginalising minority communities seeking refuge, the UK risks overlooking an opportunity to revive a dying textile industry increasingly overtaken by mega-fast fashion. In the Global North, textile heritage continues to decline. The UK fashion and textile industry experiences frequent skills shortages in fashion and footwear manufacturing, dyeing and weaving, leather work, pattern cutting, bespoke tailoring, design and development roles. This project fosters a unique solution to collectively help preserve the UK’s sustainable textile heritage by integrating refugee skillsets while creating a more equitable society. Starting in East London.
Still, in Fashion, little shifts without policy changes. The project team made policy asks to the Central government as well as the GLA (Greater London Authority), Local Authorities and the UKFT (UK Fashion and Textile Association), plus Fashion companies and SMEs. They outlined potential policy changes to tackle issues, such as granting earlier rights to work for asylum seekers, providing safe spaces and paid training opportunities and adding fashion and textile jobs to the UK Immigration Salary List, to name a few. Participants’ challenges do not end here, but this project is a deep pocket of hope in East London, proving that fashion can be a powerful tool for social justice and positive change.