In our sixth styling session, we were tasked with styling a mannequin using only items found in our households. Our lecturer, Liz, showed us many interesting examples of how this has been done before, so I was eager to complete this challenge. However when it came to thinking of what to use and how to style something original, I had absolutely no clue!
Rummaging through my home’s ‘random stuff’ cupboard (let’s be real, we all have one), I found these two gorgeous Turkish prayer mats that my Dad had kept from when he lived there. I couldn’t have found anything better, as I love to incorporate my Turkish heritage in my work, wherever possible.
Then, the weekend before this challenge, I was strolling through Newcastle when I passed some activists campaigning for support for Palestine. Naturally, I donated some money, and was given this newspaper that advocating against racism and oppression. I knew that this would be great to use in the household item challenge, and it would mean that my work would have a purpose as well, not just aesthetic.
I first styled the blue textile on its own, draped over one shoulder, similar to my previous scarf styling challenge. But I decided to change the style and drape the textiles in a way that covered the whole mannequin, linking to modesty in Islam. I added the red textile to mimic a skirt under the blue ‘top’. I loved the fringe trim detail and how it added physical texture to the styling, on top of the visual texture of the golden embroidery on the textiles.
I pleated the newspaper paged to create fans, and pinned them to the mannequin, so to display the headlines which read “FIGHT RACISM” and “LONG LIVE PALESTINE”. For further reference to the restriction that racism and oppression inflicts on minority groups, I used some elastic tape, also found in my household, and tied it around the mannequin.
This challenge really tested my creativity but, in the end, I was incredibly proud with the result and for creating such a meaningful piece of work, with such a strong message. This is one of my favourite parts of fashion, using garments to express feelings and ideas. “Fashion functions as a mirror to our times, so it is inherently political” (Singer, 2020).
