'Wi Deh Yah' - Caribbean Fashion and Design Research Network In Collaboration with Design History Society

Wi Deh Yah is a series of talks organised in collaboration with the Design History Society and the Caribbean Fashion and Design Research Network (CFDRN) which was established in October 2022 by a group of researchers whose research interests intersect in a variety of ways across the Caribbean region. CFDRN was established with the aim of amplifying the voices and histories of the Caribbean, a region which remains under-represented in histories of design. The Caribbean is defined in its broadest sense to include the islands in the Caribbean Sea and/or those countries that share its coastline.

The first session in the series Indigenous Craft and Design Practices, 24 July 2023 at 5pm (BST) brings together a group of international speakers who consider the histories of colonization and empire and the legacy of indigenous practices. Through an examination of various objects speakers will consider the influence of indigenous, West African, and European processes on the design process. One of the important questions that will be considered during this session is: have these histories produced an absence of a Caribbean aesthetic?

The second session in the series Visual Communication Design, 31 July 2023 (BST) focuses on Caribbean visual culture. The session will delve into the intricate dynamics of visuality, emphasising the significance of what is seen, who has access and the complex interplay between seeing, knowledge, and power. This talk features three compelling presentations that shed light on diverse facets of the Caribbean visuality and design; challenging visual communication education, the implications of the black aesthetic in Swiss design, challenging the biases of the graphic design field and the unearthing of Windrush visual narratives.

In the final session in this series Heritage, Diaspora and Identity, 7th August 2023 at 5pm (BST) brings together researchers and practitioners who investigate notions of heritage, diaspora and identity through an examination of fashion, textiles, beauty and style. Speakers touch on a range of subjects such as the symbiosis of history-telling, making/ and archiving to the Windrush generation, where do West Indian people fit into reconstructed and dominant narratives of their own culture and if their work can contribute to decolonized fashion and textiles narratives?

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