Kate and Kazna at the TRC, March 2018It’s always fun to volunteer at the TRC, but today was particularly so. That’s because I got to meet two new women who are also passionate about textiles: Kazna Asker and Kate Askham. Both are 21 years old and both are second year fashion students at the Manchester School of Art (part of the Manchester Metropolitan University) in the UK. They will be at the TRC for two months in order to learn the ins and outs of managing a textile and dress collection, and especially to help photograph and catalogue the TRC’s growing collection.
“People are the most important thing to me. That’s what textiles should be about,” says Kate. She sees working at the TRC as a way to gain inspiration for modern design and information on the historical roles textiles have played in the past. “I like the stories that come with textiles and how much that tells you about people and how societies were at specific times.” Next year she will have to design six different outfits for her courses, so she is looking forward to bettering “my knowledge of historical pieces, of shapes and patterns”.
Kate cannot remember a time when she wasn’t drawing clothes. She’s inspired by many different styles, from the practicality of military clothes to the elegance of 1920s party dresses. Ultimately she would “like to combine my textile knowledge with ways to make social change. My mum inspires me—she’s always worked on changing things for the better. That’s a lot of what textiles are about.”
Kazna wants “to learn to go into more depth with textiles”, in order to deepen her understanding of Middle Eastern cultures, in particular the ancient culture of Yemen. “My parents, my grandparents, aunties and uncles are from Yemen. I’m a first generation British Yemeni. My passion as a designer is to influence and educate people, so they see the struggles and skills of Middle Eastern women” and not just the poverty. “My work is inspired by Middle Eastern textiles.” Her university tutors, aware of the TRC’s Yemeni dress collection, recommended the TRC to her.
“I’m a men’s wear fashion designer. I designed a men’s track suit for my last project, using velvet and gold, with prints inspired by the interiors of mosques.” For a recent course assignment on protest and fashion, Kazia studied the U.S. Black Lives Matter and the Arab Spring movements, and combined elements from hoodies and veils to produce a burqa track suit. “I want to make ethnic minorities feel empowered when they look at my work.” It was definitely inspiring to talk to both Kate and Kazna, and I look forward to reading the blogs they will be publishing as they work with the TRC’s collection.
By Shelley Anderson, Thursday 29th March 2018
