Sustainable Fashion, Migrants, Embroidery

Sustainable Fashion, Migrants, Embroidery: Ateliers of 'Social Integration'tells of community-led 'solidarity ateliers' engaged in sewing and embroidery activities which, in the Global North and Global South, are providing a vital alternative to neoliberal and neo-colonial fashion paradigms.

On encountering several ateliers solidaires/sartorie socialiduring her immersive fieldwork, for which she travelled to Morocco and Southern Italy, and contrasting her findings with her knowledge of parallel and analogous initiatives in London, Alessandra Lopez y Royo suggests that despite their different outlook and approach these ateliers can be inscribed within an ever-growing economy of solidarity and sharing.

With a uniquely combined focus on sustainability, fashion and migration, Lopez y Royo examines how the ateliers foreground a powerful social inclusion agenda, encouraging migrants (and refugees) to collaborate, exchange knowledge, and foster communities on a level playing field with locals.

Questioning widely accepted notions of 'empowerment' and 'social integration', and drawing on her background in archaeology and material culture studies, Lopez y Royo uses micro-studies to illuminate a broader path to a more inclusive, sustainable, and socially conscious industry, presenting a fresh perspective on repurposing and upcycling.

In a world grappling with the need to shift away from fast fashion's wasteful practices, this thought-provoking exploration shows how slow-growth 'solidarity ateliers' can challenge the widely accepted notions of both 'fashion' and 'social integration'.