Threads of Life continued
"I knew that we could still weave Jacquard locally as a firm in
Keighley specialised in very intricate labels for the designer garments
that had overtaken the fashion industry in the 90s. They had a really
good team of young women designers capable of the fine attention to
detail required. Everyone involved in the project was fired with
enthusiasm and worked for free. Then Bradford launched an earthquake
appeal and I realised that this could become their poppy – a tribute
showing what we owe the Kashmiri people in terms of fashion and design.
The Lord Mayor has adopted this as his official gift for the year,
rather than giving important visitors a commemorative paperweight, or
whatever.
We wanted to make the ribbons look precious, so
Amy added gold thread to the design to give it that exoticism and magic
that comes from this tradition. We included a gold bejewelled pin and
paid great attention to how they would be packaged and displayed. We
had to make it work at the point of sale so we got involved in printing
the cards and sourcing Perspex stands. This is an important lesson for
all fashion students – never compromise on design at any stage in the
process. We have also produced ties, which is important so we can get
all those ‘suits’ wearing them, and a small number of pashminas too.
All the work has been done by women. This was not intentional but I
don’t think that men would have fiddled with it to the extent we have –
though we have had tremendous support from men.
It is the first anniversary of the earthquake this weekend and it is moving to be here at Bradford College, speaking to fashion students, to show how such a beautiful resource can be used to create a worthwhile response to tragedy. Everyone in Bradford shares a textile legacy - it was textiles that brought the Irish, Italians, Ukrainians, Germans, French and many other others as well as the Kashmiri people to this city. This initiative is not political, not religious - our agenda is textile fashion.
The response to the designs has been phenomenal. The limited edition ribbons will be on sale at Salts Mill, the Aagrah group of restaurants plus museums and galleries, including the Yorkshire Craft Centre. Each ribbon is priced at £5 and each tie at £10, much less than if they had been made as a commercial venture, and raises funds and crucial awareness.”