Lunchtime Lecture: Participatory Fashion Practices for Cultural Sustainability and Social Change

In this talk, Dr Francesco Mazzarella (Reader in Design for Social Change at London College of Fashion, UAL) will share key insights from the AHRC-funded project ‘Decolonising Fashion and Textiles: Design for Cultural Sustainability with Refugee Communities’ (DFT) delivered in partnership with the V&A, alongside other organisations. The project explored the concepts of cultural sustainability and community resilience through the lived experiences of London-based refugees and asylum seekers, and contributed towards decolonising dominant fashion design practice. Francesco will reflect on how he facilitates safe spaces for marginalised communities to engage in processes of reciprocal making and learning through textile heritage, contributing to shaping a more equitable, diverse, inclusive and sustainable future, in and through fashion.

Dr Francesco Mazzarella is a design researcher, educator, and activist, striving to plant seeds of hope and change, especially working with marginalised communities. He is Reader in Design for Social Change at London College of Fashion, UAL. His work at Centre for Sustainable Fashion, UAL explores ways in which design activism can be used to create counter-narratives towards sustainability, in and through fashion.