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texTALES

"Where Fashion Meets Storytelling to Foster Migrant Inclusion"

Narrating Migrants’ Tales Through Co-Created Ethical Fashion Collection and Itinerant Storytelling Events

The program

The texTALES project aims to foster social inclusion for migrants by merging ethical fashion with the power of storytelling. Through social tailoring workshops, migrants collaborate with professional tailors to co-create a sustainable clothing collection, enhancing their skills and crafting unique garments.

These garments serve as storytelling tools, narrating personal journeys that unfold during itinerant fashion shows and pop-up events across Europe.

Key Objectives:

Promoting Social and Professional Integration: Empowering migrants with skills and opportunities to enter the labor market and integrate into society.
Transforming the Narrative on Migration: Highlighting migrants’ positive contributions through powerful personal stories and creative expression.
Advocating for Sustainable Fashion: Demonstrating the environmental and social benefits of ethical practices in the fashion industry.

The project aligns with the EU’s objectives of fostering social inclusion and sustainability. By building partnerships in Italy, France, and Greece, texTALES creates a lasting impact both locally and across Europe. The initiative further supports sustainability by using recycled materials, addressing environmental challenges alongside social ones. Co-financed by the European Commission, texTALES is a blueprint for innovative, transnational collaboration.

The partners

texTALES addresses the need for a collaborative EU network of social tailoring labs, leveraging fashion as a powerful medium for social inclusion and creativity. Through transnational cooperation, the project enhances the co-creation and design capabilities of participating organizations, promoting the integration of migrants into both the labor market and the broader community.

The partnership unites key players from four EU countries, each bringing unique expertise:

Three partners specialize in social inclusion and operate social tailoring labs.
One partner focuses on storytelling, raising awareness of sensitive social and geopolitical issues.

Together, they drive a shared mission: using fashion and storytelling to create a more inclusive and sustainable Europe.

The four partners:

ANKAA Project (Greece)
Dress Again (Italy)
Espero France (France)
War Childhood Museum (Netherlands)

The collection

Our initiative fosters cross-border collaboration among skilled dressmakers from partner social tailoring workshops, enhancing technical and soft skills in a unique Transnational Co-Design Tailor Lab. The lab, themed “Creating Together, Telling Together, Living Together”, unites dressmakers from Dress Again, ANKAA and ESPERO to co-design a culturally sensitive clothing collection.

Highlights of the Co-Design Tailor Lab:

Skill Development: dressmakers master professional tailoring tools and sustainable fashion practices.
Cultural Sensitivity: Designs incorporate migrants’ cultural, social, and environmental contexts, promoting social inclusion.
Collaborative Creation: Through brainstorming and shared methodologies, participants develop and refine illustrative sketches.

From Concept to Creation:

Following the lab, a working group of dressmakers and migrants collaborates on The Narrating Clothes Collection. This group works across countries, exchanging sketches and sartorial models. A collective review process ensures the final collection aligns with shared visions.

Sustainable Fashion Production:

Each partner produces outfits from second-hand clothes and recycled materials, leveraging local networks for textile sourcing. Migrants receive hands-on training in advanced tailoring techniques, enhancing their technical skills, professional connections, and personal growth.

This initiative emphasizes sustainability, social inclusion, and empowerment, transforming fashion into a tool for connection and storytelling.

Itinerant fashion show & exhibition

Unveiling The Narrating Clothes Collection

Metamorphosis is a travelling exhibition that blends storytelling and fashion to promote social inclusion through creative co-production. Featuring contributions from dozens of migrant community members in France, Greece and Italy, the exhibitions showcases 30 hand-crafted garments, drawings and stories that reveals far more than meets the eye.

Into the fabrics and linings of these unique pieces are woven personal stories-experiences shaped by war, displacement and resilience. Each garment speaks of lives interrupted, journeys taken and identities redefined.

Metamorphosis is the result of over a year of collaboration, creating and documenting. The aim is to share the tales that matter.

Three cities will host exclusive one-day events to officially launch The Narrating Clothes Collection. These events will feature itinerant fashion shows and a captivating pop-up exhibition, showcasing the personal stories and handcrafted creations that bring them to life. The space will be transformed into a powerful visual and emotional journey, symbolizing the experiences of migrants and their inspiring paths toward inclusion.

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