It was late last year, that word got round that Violeta Jaffray wanted to find a way to expose the dark side of the fashion industry. Her vision was to pair a designer dress with an artist for them to disrupt it, using it as a canvas, to highlight a relevant issue such as climate change, exploitation, poor wages, wastage and synthetic fabrics. The finished garments are to be sold through Jaffray and Co in Birmingham, following an alternative fashion show.

Three members of seam became involved, Lydia Needle, Jane Colquhoun and myself. Nina Gronw-Lewis and Lydia co-ordinated the receiving and dispatching of the garments to us to work on.

My initial reaction was:

How on earth do you start on something that is already made, and make it relevant and still saleable?

I was allocated an Aquascutum sleeveless trench coat. It was beautifully made and fitted like a glove. My initial research revealed the story of the company, founded in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace, based on the development of a new water resistant fabric and a coat that was worn in the trenches – hence ‘trench coat’, worn in both World Wars and by suffragettes, and later adopted by politicians and stars. In more recent years the brand has lost favour and has become a name in a holding company in the Far East. Armed with this information, I interpreted the Crystal Palace on the back of the coat in stitch and beading, and from it, emerged a tree of life and death, representing the growth and blossoming of the company to its current state of dormancy.

Lydia’s garment became a dark story based on a Dicken’s novel. As soon as she saw this dress, and the long dark swathe of blackness that falls from the hair surrounding the printed woman’s face, she thought of the second spirit that appears to Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and the cloak they wear. The top two stitched faces have eyes that belong to Ignorance and Want, the allegorical characters from the story. In addition to Ignorance and Want, she added another couple of other characters below. These are Capitalism and Greed – perfect for the Victoria Beckham dress.

Jane’s garment was a Valentino dress and her design was based on the Pearly King.

Meeting up in Glastonbury with the other artists disrupting the designer dresses was a revelation; it was the first reveal of many of the garments. Such imagination and skill was shown. The plans for a show were well underway and the talented group offered roller blading, silk dancing and so much more for the event.

The day arrived and all was set up at Glastonbury Town Hall for the inaugural show. What a spectacle – the models were amazing and embraced the event. There was music, poetry, rapping, dancing and so much more.

It was such a fun evening which ended with a party and the garments being packed up to go onto their new home at Jaffray and Co in Birmingham. Violeta and her team were a force to be reckoned with – passionate, creative and driven to make the world a better place in whatever way possible. The designer clothes are now available at Jaffray and Co., find out more on Instagram @jaffrayandco.

Joy Merron