Design and Make: Creative Collaborations

This presentation reports on an apprenticeship-style approach to a workshop-based project that provides a safe educational environment for young ex-gang members to explore their personal potential and creative ideas within a set framework. This collaborative project commits to working ‘Beyond Fashion’ to develop a meaningful relationship with young people affected by knife crime and facilitate an opportunity to build upon their own sense of personal identity, respond to change and continue their journey of creating a positive future for themselves and their wider community. Fashion permeates our everyday lives and has a subliminal connection to the world that we live in. We cannot underestimate the influence of fashion within society or the messages that it sends out as it becomes more intertwined with music, youth culture, politics and our everyday lives. It is precisely this connection and its diversity that has prompted this ‘participatory’ workshop activity and to move fashion beyond its known boundaries of association. We can use “fashion” to connect with those who are disconnected from society and use its potential to become a transformative vehicle for those whose lives have been affected by crime, unemployment, lack of opportunity and deep-rooted social issues that have led to a cycle of offending. Creative collaborations such as this also serve to create a culture of social and environmental awareness in order to develop and integrate sustainable and ethical practice throughout all aspects of our life and work