Designed for Life

Designed for Life celebrates London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London (UAL)’s decades long commitment to using fashion, design and creative practice as a force for positive social change. Comprised of diverse projects employing textiles, design, film, photography, artefacts, personal testimonies and community building, the exhibition illustrates the transformative power of creative action in shaping our world.

Coinciding with the launch of LCF's new campus at East Bank on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Designed for Life showcases projects which foster community cohesion whilst yielding high-quality artistic outputs. Responding swiftly to social crises, these interventions offer employment and training opportunities to support those with experiences of displacement.

Through five immersive showcases, the exhibition invites visitors to explore key themes; London as home; reciprocal learning as community building; empowerment through making; the relationship between global emergency and creative expression. Across these themes are visions pertaining to a more sustainable and equitable future.

Work featured includes:

• LCF, UAL’s Portal Centre for Social Impact and its award-winning programmes
• LCF, UAL’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion's, Decolonising Fashion and Textiles project
• Centre for Sustainable Fashion's artists and researchers, Lucy Orta and Helen Storey, and their collaborators
• Nana's House; An interactive living room installation reflecting and representing a broad heterogeneity of lives and experiences in east London curated by Dr Leila Nassereldein and co-curated by community members Pallavi Chamarty, Omolara Obanishola, Dave Sohanpal and Anh Tran. Supported by Dr Michael McMillan
• Works and events by East London Art Prize recipients Woo Jin Joo, Sophie Cunningham and Alaa Alsaraji developed in collaboration with Bow Arts
• Innovative practices of Toyin Gbomedo and Noemi Gunea as part of SEEDED, an East Bank partner residency programme for east London-based creatives, communities and collectives supported by Foundation for Future London and the City of London Corporation

Designed for Life is the inaugural exhibition at LCF’s new East Bank home.