Festival
Performance Festival 2025
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Immerse yourself in the world of digital fashion with our interactive activities and try-on digital garments, created by a group of talented emerging designers. This special drop-in event is the outcome of a Digital Fashion Course organised by the V&A in February and March 2025 for a cohort of young people. This group of young people received technical instructions and mentoring from fashion designers and 3D artists and developed their own digital garments inspired by the theme of self-portraiture.
- Use digital filters to explore identity and self-portraiture made material
- Use collage, fabric swatches and acetate to create your own self-portrait
- Learn about the process of creating a digital garment, from inspiration boards and sketches to creating digital patterns and animations
This event is part of the V&A Performance Festival 2025 and will run from 11.00 - 16.30 both days. This event is suitable for all ages, with something for everyone.
Featured Designers
Anna Wood
Anna has a background in Bespoke Tailoring, graduating in 2024 from the BA Bespoke Tailoring course at the London College of Fashion. Her work has a firm focus on craftsmanship and plays within the constraints of tailoring techniques, pushing the boundaries through cut to create movement, shape and unique silhouettes.
Amber Jiang
Yuchen Jiang is a London-based artist and performance designer, who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2024 with a degree in Performance: Design and Practice. Her practice centers on wearable art, exploring the body as a site of transformation and storytelling working across both digital and physical realms. Through a multidisciplinary approach, she continues to push the boundaries of performance design, weaving together elements of material research, spatial awareness, and conceptual exploration.
Anna Wood
Anna has a background in Bespoke Tailoring, graduating in 2024 from the BA Bespoke Tailoring course at the London College of Fashion. Her work has a firm focus on craftsmanship and plays within the constraints of tailoring techniques, pushing the boundaries through cut to create movement, shape and unique silhouettes.
Amber Jiang
Yuchen Jiang is a London-based artist and performance designer, who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2024 with a degree in Performance: Design and Practice. Her practice centers on wearable art, exploring the body as a site of transformation and storytelling working across both digital and physical realms. Through a multidisciplinary approach, she continues to push the boundaries of performance design, weaving together elements of material research, spatial awareness, and conceptual exploration.
Ayisha Okanlawon
Ayisha Okanlawon is a British-Nigerian designer and multidisciplinary artist based in London. Her work blends influences from her inner-city London upbringing and Nigerian heritage, reflecting a fusion of identities. Through fashion, she explores themes of culture, community, and identity, using design as a form of storytelling and expression.
Bryony Orr
Bryony’s design practice focuses on play, creating designs which encourage interactivity and play within the garments themselves. She explores tactility and its importance in shaping our experience of clothing and fashion, creating textural designs using hand knit and crochet techniques. By focusing on handcraftsmanship she aims to promote a slow fashion model, preserving traditional crafting techniques.
Daisy Unwin
Daisy Unwin is a London-based artist and graduate of the Glasgow School of Art. Her practice explores the intersection of art and fashion; the exchange of garment becoming sculpture, and sculpture becoming a wearable form. Working primarily with knitwear, she integrates diverse digital design techniques into each collection. Focusing on transformation, she embraces the fluidity between both the practical and the abstract.
Eleni Pasatembou
Eleni is a London-based Cypriot artist and fashion designer whose work blurs the line between art and fashion. A London College of Fashion graduate, she creates voluminous, sculptural garments exploring themes like death, human relationships, and emotion. Her designs are immersive, bold, and rooted in storytelling and self-discovery.
Farah Maktari
Farah is a UK-based artist who graduated from Chelsea College of Art in Fine Arts. She aims to revive cultural practices and challenge our relationships by playfully merging historical and fictional narratives, reclaiming agency over Middle Eastern cultures. Her background in textiles and history helps me explore how heritage can be activated in fashion, digital design, and creative direction.
George Valentine Avill
George’s practice foremost revolves around archiving contemporary transgender experiences and analysing the roots of how the marginalisation of certain bodies prevails. His current research focuses on the lack of representation of trans people in the fashion industry. George began researching the way costuming has been used historically to create a narrative for the body that the garments adorn.
Hannah Vinluan
Hannah Vinluan is a British-Filipino designer exploring identity and cultural pride through fashion. She reimagines traditional Filipino silhouettes, blending them with streetwear to celebrate Filipino heritage and reflect the complexities of growing up between two cultures. Her work honours her roots while creating space for both cultures to coexist, reflecting her journey of self-discovery.
Josef Robert Lloyd
Josef Robert Lloyd is a London-based Menswear and Accessories Designer bringing fun back into fashion. Originating from The New Forest and then studying Fashion Design at Brighton University. He often draws inspiration from childhood nostalgia and historical references. His work uses bright colours and bold shapes to add a playful whimsy to menswear while reimagining tradition with a vibrant and exaggerated twist.
Marina Ambrosone
Marina is a London-based Italian costume designer. A RADA Theatre Costume graduate, she reimagines design through sustainability and storytelling, crafting bold, character-driven costumes from vintage, second-hand, and scrap fabrics. Her work explores identity, transformation, and giving new life to forgotten materials.
Santhushi Wimalaratne
Santhushi is a Sri Lankan industrial fashion designer with 4 years of experience across Kidswear, Swimwear, and Intimates. Her design identity blends history and culture to tell cross-cultural stories. With a MA in Fashion Marketing and a background in product development and digital design, she bridges creativity and industry insight.
Sauda Imam
Sauda Imam is a British Nigerian textile designer whose work blends heritage with contemporary design. Trained at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, her handwoven fabrics reflect dual identity and bold storytelling. Featured in British Vogue, her work bridges tradition and innovation through rich, expressive textiles.
Teresa Alade
Teresa Alade is a 23-year-old British Nigerian fashion creative from East London whose work celebrates the richness and global impact of Black British culture. Rooted in a deep appreciation for heritage, her practice explores the fusion of traditional Nigerian silhouettes with Western fabrics and tailoring.
Ben Xiquan Peng
Ben Xiquan Peng, China-born and London-based fashion designer and Central Saint Martins MA Fashion graduate, creates contemporary fashion blending tailoring skills with artistic storytelling. Known for innovative designs exploring gender fluidity and sustainable practices, their creations reflect a deep understanding of garment construction while challenging boundaries between masculine and feminine aesthetics through a distinctive visual language.
Zel Hallam
Zel Hallam (He/They) is a passionate and innovative designer based in London, whose work is heavily influenced by the trans and lesbian communities. With a focus on bold, expressive design, Zel creates pieces that not only push creative boundaries but also reflect deep personal and identity-driven stories. Through his art, Zel aims to amplify voices, celebrate identity, and contribute to a more inclusive visual landscape.
Ayisha Okanlawon is a British-Nigerian designer and multidisciplinary artist based in London. Her work blends influences from her inner-city London upbringing and Nigerian heritage, reflecting a fusion of identities. Through fashion, she explores themes of culture, community, and identity, using design as a form of storytelling and expression.
Bryony Orr
Bryony’s design practice focuses on play, creating designs which encourage interactivity and play within the garments themselves. She explores tactility and its importance in shaping our experience of clothing and fashion, creating textural designs using hand knit and crochet techniques. By focusing on handcraftsmanship she aims to promote a slow fashion model, preserving traditional crafting techniques.
Daisy Unwin
Daisy Unwin is a London-based artist and graduate of the Glasgow School of Art. Her practice explores the intersection of art and fashion; the exchange of garment becoming sculpture, and sculpture becoming a wearable form. Working primarily with knitwear, she integrates diverse digital design techniques into each collection. Focusing on transformation, she embraces the fluidity between both the practical and the abstract.
Eleni Pasatembou
Eleni is a London-based Cypriot artist and fashion designer whose work blurs the line between art and fashion. A London College of Fashion graduate, she creates voluminous, sculptural garments exploring themes like death, human relationships, and emotion. Her designs are immersive, bold, and rooted in storytelling and self-discovery.
Farah Maktari
Farah is a UK-based artist who graduated from Chelsea College of Art in Fine Arts. She aims to revive cultural practices and challenge our relationships by playfully merging historical and fictional narratives, reclaiming agency over Middle Eastern cultures. Her background in textiles and history helps me explore how heritage can be activated in fashion, digital design, and creative direction.
George Valentine Avill
George’s practice foremost revolves around archiving contemporary transgender experiences and analysing the roots of how the marginalisation of certain bodies prevails. His current research focuses on the lack of representation of trans people in the fashion industry. George began researching the way costuming has been used historically to create a narrative for the body that the garments adorn.
Hannah Vinluan
Hannah Vinluan is a British-Filipino designer exploring identity and cultural pride through fashion. She reimagines traditional Filipino silhouettes, blending them with streetwear to celebrate Filipino heritage and reflect the complexities of growing up between two cultures. Her work honours her roots while creating space for both cultures to coexist, reflecting her journey of self-discovery.
Josef Robert Lloyd
Josef Robert Lloyd is a London-based Menswear and Accessories Designer bringing fun back into fashion. Originating from The New Forest and then studying Fashion Design at Brighton University. He often draws inspiration from childhood nostalgia and historical references. His work uses bright colours and bold shapes to add a playful whimsy to menswear while reimagining tradition with a vibrant and exaggerated twist.
Marina Ambrosone
Marina is a London-based Italian costume designer. A RADA Theatre Costume graduate, she reimagines design through sustainability and storytelling, crafting bold, character-driven costumes from vintage, second-hand, and scrap fabrics. Her work explores identity, transformation, and giving new life to forgotten materials.
Santhushi Wimalaratne
Santhushi is a Sri Lankan industrial fashion designer with 4 years of experience across Kidswear, Swimwear, and Intimates. Her design identity blends history and culture to tell cross-cultural stories. With a MA in Fashion Marketing and a background in product development and digital design, she bridges creativity and industry insight.
Sauda Imam
Sauda Imam is a British Nigerian textile designer whose work blends heritage with contemporary design. Trained at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, her handwoven fabrics reflect dual identity and bold storytelling. Featured in British Vogue, her work bridges tradition and innovation through rich, expressive textiles.
Teresa Alade
Teresa Alade is a 23-year-old British Nigerian fashion creative from East London whose work celebrates the richness and global impact of Black British culture. Rooted in a deep appreciation for heritage, her practice explores the fusion of traditional Nigerian silhouettes with Western fabrics and tailoring.
Ben Xiquan Peng
Ben Xiquan Peng, China-born and London-based fashion designer and Central Saint Martins MA Fashion graduate, creates contemporary fashion blending tailoring skills with artistic storytelling. Known for innovative designs exploring gender fluidity and sustainable practices, their creations reflect a deep understanding of garment construction while challenging boundaries between masculine and feminine aesthetics through a distinctive visual language.
Zel Hallam
Zel Hallam (He/They) is a passionate and innovative designer based in London, whose work is heavily influenced by the trans and lesbian communities. With a focus on bold, expressive design, Zel creates pieces that not only push creative boundaries but also reflect deep personal and identity-driven stories. Through his art, Zel aims to amplify voices, celebrate identity, and contribute to a more inclusive visual landscape.
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Header image: V&A