Winchester School of Art (WSA) presents work from its MA Fashion Design and MA Textile Design programmes at Africa Fashion Week London 2026, showcasing an exploration of heritage, cultural exchange and contemporary design.
Soboye Re
Originally presented in conjunction with Africa Fashion Week 2025, Soboye Re brings together the creative work developed through the Turn Up The Tartan project, an exploration of Scottish and African heritage through fashion and textiles.
The project examines the meeting point between traditional Scottish tartan and African print traditions, transforming familiar patterns and cultural references into contemporary fashion and textile designs. The resulting work reflects the students’ experimentation with heritage, digital textile processes and innovative approaches to pattern cutting.
Students collaborated with renowned designer Samson Soboye and Professor Jonathan Faiers, author of Tartan, as part of the project. Their collaboration encouraged an approach centred on disruption and divergence, combining traditional techniques with contemporary methodologies.
The collection incorporates creative and transformative pattern cutting, including zero-waste techniques, alongside heritage-inspired and digital textile processes. Through these methods, the students explored how fashion and textile design can address ethical practice while maintaining a strong focus on aesthetic innovation.
The presentation represents the semester-one work of 27 MA Fashion Design students and 13 MA Textile Design students, marking a significant collaborative achievement for the programmes.
Through Soboye Re, Winchester School of Art demonstrates how education, cultural heritage and contemporary design can intersect to create new approaches to fashion and textile practice.
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