Brick Lane: An Immigration Story is a graduate project about celebrating multiculturalism in the UK using my own personal family heritage and the history of the lane as inspiration. The lane has been a place of refuge and integration for many different cultures and sects and has become a place where different cultures can contribute their identity to create a place that is totally unique and different to anywhere else in the world. As an immigrant family, integration was integral to our family’s success in this country. In a post-Brexit world, it is even more important to understand how immigrants have a positive impact on our country.
By employing a collaged and layered style to reflect the graffiti and street art in the lane, I was able to create a textile collection that is intended for a fashion context. Streetwear is pivotal to the lane, to the stores present on the street, the visitors and the residents. These textiles are directed towards an eclectic streetwear aesthetic that embraces not only a variety of imagery, drawing, painterly marks and surfaces, but also a vibrant colour palette that translates into wearable, bold designs and iconography.
