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Home Turf: where football, fashion and identity intersect

A young man stands on a football pitch with tower blocks behind him, alongside text inviting young men in East London to take part in a football and fashion project.
  • Written byStudent Communications
  • Published date 21 January 2026
A young man stands on a football pitch with tower blocks behind him, alongside text inviting young men in East London to take part in a football and fashion project.
Image credits: Photography: Kayla Connors, Styling & Direction: Ashton Jones-Frame

Home Turf

Home Turf explores identity, masculinity and self-expression with working-class young men from East London through football and fashion.

Despite societal norms changing around conversations of mental health, many young men, particularly young Black men, live in a completely different world, still struggling to open-up. They also remain negatively portrayed in the media and lack spaces where their stories are told, valued and archived.

The project uses football and fashion as accessible starting points for deeper conversations. Both are parts of the lives of the participants yet often framed as contrasting expressions of masculinity. By bringing them together, the project challenges narrow ideas of what masculinity looks like and creates space for young men to explore their identities without judgement.

From storytelling to creative outcomes

Home Turf will undertake 3 phases. The first phase (January - February ) will consist of storytelling, allowing participants to reflect on themes such as culture, creativity, community, masculinity and aspiration, prior to gathering and delivering long form oral-histories, partnering with Eastside Community Heritage. The second (March - May) will partner with LCF students to develop creative outcomes (e.g. editorial photoshoot, campaign film) from the stories of the participants whilst reflecting on the given themes, with the third phase (May) being an exhibition, where the stories and outcomes are able to come to life.

The aim is to build confidence and validate the identities of the participants. By sharing these stories with a wider audience, the project aims to humanise a misunderstood and marginalised group and show that football and fashion can coexist as meaningful forms of expression.

Get involved

Are you aged 18–25 and living, studying or working in East London, with an interest in football and fashion? Contact Ashton Jones-Frame, a.jones-frame@fashion.arts.ac.uk to take part in the project by 12 Febuary 2026.