As part of the Collaborative Challenge unit taught across the MA courses at London College of Fashion (LCF), UAL, the project brought together students, staff and industry collaborators to explore storytelling through materials and textiles and consider how autoethnographic research can make material cultures visible.
While the students could freely interpret the brief, they were encouraged to explore the history and cultural context of their personal heritage, work together with others to craft an ethnographic artefact reflecting personal connections and interpretations, and contribute to a materials library that showcases materials from across the world.
Overall, there were 24 students working on the brief, split into six groups across MA Fashion Artefact, MA Footwear, MA Fashion Design and Technology: Womenswear, MA Fashion Design and Technology: Menswear, MA Pattern and Garment Technology, MA Fashion Futures, MA Innovative Fashion Production, MSc Psychology of Fashion courses.
The challenge also involved participants Connie Karol Burks (Curator of Textiles and Fashion at Victoria and Albert Museum), the Yinka Shonibare foundation Lagos Nigeria, Eve Lin (Senior Lecturer at LCF and an autoethnography study toolkit author), Pallavi Chamarty (MA Fashion Cultures and Histories graduate), Sukhwinder Sagoo-Reddy (Textiles and Fashion Design Associate Lecturer teaching on the Better Lives programme and multidisciplinary practitioner for University-wide Academic Support unit).
This was not the first time the Materials Collection got involved in the Challenge. Previously, students had praised the opportunity to explore different methods of researching, as the collection aims to make creative and interactive research become the standard.
Billie Coxhead, Materials & Products Collection Coordinator, hopes that the collaboration will encourage students to see sensory research as equally important as any other type of research.
The storytelling element in the brief was introduced by Ana Ogunsanya, Acting Course Leader of Fashion Sportswear at LCF. Her own research project, which had led Ogunsanya to Nigeria, made her become curious about exploring personal heritage and the intricacies of connecting such stories.
Ogunsanya had always wanted to organise sessions for her students to start their design process by going back to the ultimate source — textiles and materials. She had noticed that students would think about sourcing materials only after having done their initial sketches, often forcing the materials fit their design vision.
“We don’t talk about materials enough when actually it’s the beginning of the whole design journey,” stresses Ogunsanya.
Ultimately, the unravelling of the hidden stories made the students not only feel connected to the tales they were listening to but also identify the ways in which they were secretly connected to their own culture and heritage through textiles.
Alongside presenting their research, the student teams also made physical objects which are now displayed next to the Materials Collection’s entrance. The array of outcomes included booklets, fabric maps, and even colouring sheets, all of which became artefacts in their own right. While the teams were never asked to produce physical objects, Billie notes that it was an excellent way to amplify the impact of the work that had gone into the project.
Working within groups also meant finding a common thread that would tie individual lived experiences together. One project, titled “Misplaced” looked into the idea of misplacement and colonisation through a series of physical samples, metal imprints, embroidery, fabric sample, book and a printed booklet.
By using Welsh fabric and Chinese embroidery, the materials were reshaped through the process of “pressing”, symbolising three cultural identities’ struggles to voice their own heritage and how cultural exchange can bring new unique culture and influence each other. Team members included Chi Hin Lawrence Wan (MA Fashion Artefact), Geraint Brian Lewis (MA Womenswear), Tiancheng Meng (MA Menswear), Yuhan (Grace) Guo (MSc Applied Psychology in Fashion).
The research also informed the library about what books the students felt were missing from the shelves to keep the collection relevant, inclusive, and expanding.
“It was about getting them to look within themselves and not be afraid to speak about their own perspective and ways of looking at things from within,” concludes Ogunsanya.
The weight of the Collaborative Challenge unit lies not in its outcome, but the process instead, and it is important that the College keeps its doors open for different ways of research, engagement, and perspectives.
“What’s really wonderful about working with researchers is that they open up their practice for students to experiment with, and it provides them with so much more access than reading a book could ever do,” explains Tiff Radmore, Collaborative Unit Coordinator. “The research gives students space for deep reflection and seeing their work add to the richness of the Materials Collection is what makes it all worthwhile.”