Empowering young people through Fashioning our World project

Fashioning Our World offers young people the opportunity to:

• Work with experts and museum volunteers to uncover the untold stories of sustainability within collections of historic clothing and accessories.
• Learn skills to work on their own clothes – such as visible mending, patching and remaking.
• Make a positive impact by inspiring others in the community to reconsider fashion sustainability through initiatives like a Sustainable Fashion Show and a Fashioning Our World exhibition.

We have developed partnerships with local sustainable fashion businesses and organisations, such as Foxtrot Vintage shop in Salisbury, Sustainable Fashion Week (Bristol), and The Swish, a social enterprise that aims to engage young people in sustainable fashion.

Fashioning Our World is based at The Salisbury Museum, and workshops have been run at both The Salisbury Museum and Dorset Museum & Art Gallery.

The project aims to inspire other museums and heritage organisations to engage with young people and their fashion collections in a similar way.

It has been supported by The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund – delivered by the Museums Association and Wessex Museums.

• Inspire young people to explore sustainable fashion from the past, learn new skills, and assist the community in making sustainable fashion choices in the future through workshops and after school sessions.
• Work with other learning providers, such as Arts University Bournemouth, to design clothing inspired by the items in the collection and to highlight sustainability.
• Involve museum volunteers in investigating the collection for sustainable fashion narratives, sharing them with young people and imparting their skills and knowledge.
• Support young people to share knowledge gained from the project and assist the community in making sustainable choices through Fashioning Our World exhibition and events, including a Sustainable Fashion Show.
• Share the project’s progress digitally on the Fashioning Our World website and Instagram.
• Set up a “model” for the industry that enables other museums and heritage organisations to engage with their fashion collections and young people. Collaborate with Dorset Museum & Art Gallery to pilot this initiative. 

• Fashioning Our World was inspired by the work of The Salisbury Museum over the past six years, particularly their collaboration with young people on projects such as Look Again, aimed at reimagining the museum’s fashion collection.
• The idea for this project originated from conversations with young people and their concerns about sustainability.
• Working with young people has shown us that they have a passion for fashion but are concerned about the environmental impact of fast fashion on the climate crisis.
• The project idea was developed alongside young people, museum partners, and the volunteer team.
• The project was also discussed with a historical textile expert, as well as other organisations, including Youth Action Wiltshire, and digital and design experts.
• We used the Museums Association’s Power to the People Framework to evaluate our current practices and see how we could improve on this and inspire others.

Upcoming Exhibition:

Fashioning Our World: Unpicking the Past to Thread Together Our Future

Saturday, February 10, 2024 to Sunday, May 12, 2024 at The Salisbury Museum.

Katy England 
Fashioning Our World Project Manager, The Salisbury Museum 
01722 3332151

katyengland@salisburymuseum.org.uk