In partnership with Sustainably Muslim and Two Billion Strong, Ahista Stories brings you Ahista Stories Live, London’s first South Asian sustainable fashion festival. Sponsored by WUKA, Ahista Stories Live consists of panels, workshops and market stalls celebrating traditional South Asian clothes and the people who make them. Tickets start at £5 and can be purchased here.

11:30-13:30 Workshop: Diminishing Indian Embroideries Participants will learn about Kutch embroidery, an umbrella term for various embroidery techniques practised across the state of Gujarat, and will get to create their own keepsake miniature embroidered artworks.

12:30-17:00 Market Stalls Askari; Sorry It’s Vintage; WUKA + more TBC!

12:30-13:30 Workshop: Sewing 101 Come and learn how to sew a hem and sew a button by hand so you can mend and extend the life of your clothes. All materials for practising will be provided, but bring buttons and/or matching thread if you want to repair your own clothes.

13:30-14:15 Panel: How Do We Build Solidarity With Garment Workers? Moving beyond ethical consumerism, our panellists will discuss how lovers of clothes can band together and stand in solidarity with the people who make them. Panellists: Nav Singh; Nusrat Uddin; Thulsi Narayanasamy

14:00-15:00 Workshop: Upcycled Sari Wreaths Participants will learn to make a 12” fabric wreath using offcuts of colourful sari fabric. At the end of the hour, you’ll come away with the perfect decoration to hang in your house or on your door all year round! 

14:30-15:15 Panel: What’s God Got To Do With Fashion? Exploring different religious teachings and belief systems about clothes, materialism and caring for the planet. Panellists: Nazia Sultana; Shantanu Mandal; Shilpa Bilimoria

15:30-16:15 Panel: How Do Clothes Make Us? (Sponsored by Askari) Exploring how our clothes and fashion at large shape our individual identities and our relationships with our families, communities and South Asian culture. Panellists: Sara Abbasi; Sinéad Khan; Vishal Tolambia

15:30-17:00 Workshop: Upcycled Sari Scrunchies Learn how to hand sew a scrunchie out of saris donated to us by our community. All materials will be provided, but you’re welcome to bring your own fabric and thread.

About the venue: Poplar Union is fully wheelchair accessible, has a cafe on site and opens out onto a park for quick access to fresh air. Find more info here.

Follow us on Instagram @ahista.stories and sign up to our mailing list for updates about Ahista Stories Live 2023.