Fashioning Our World
Fashioning Our World worked with young people (aged 11-25) to discover the hidden stories of sustainability told by clothes and accessories from the past. The young people explored items from the Salisbury Museum fashion collection and learnt practical skills to repair and repurpose items in their own wardrobe.
“I like everything about the panels, we all worked together to produce every aspect of them and they’ve turned out cohesive and unusually appealing. It’s nice to see your own work on display.”
The young people shared these powerful stories with the community, aiming to change people’s attitudes to fashion and help fight the climate crisis. They organised events including a sustainable fashion show, for which they made their own outfits by repurposing and using recycled materials.
They also co-curated an exhibition at Salisbury Museum, attracting 6,851 visitors. It told the stories of clothes and accessories that have been repurposed, mended and loved in the past, and asked: ‘Can this inspire us to think differently about fashion in the future?’
“Honestly, it feels amazing to see my ideas being used to educate people on the history of fashion!”
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The project created a model that can be used by other museums and heritage organisations with fashion collections and worked in partnership with Dorset Museum to trial this. The initiative trained 44 volunteers and a further nine from Salisbury Museum and four from Dorset Museum have researched the fashion collections, helped with events, workshops and the exhibition, and passed on skills to young people.
“Fun and relaxed sessions, flexible and supportive for a range of abilities. Young people had fun and enjoyed creating. Activities were enjoyable and the young people felt able to participate without fear of not being able to do things.”
Fashioning Our World was shortlisted for the Best Museums Change Lives Project award at the Museums Change Lives Awards 2024.