A NEW Windrush event will take place during London Fashion Week in conjunction with supermodel turned campaigner Eunice Olumide.
Next Generation Regeneration: Fashion and Revolution is a unique Windrush themed celebration being held in Brixton, and it will feature free fashion and sustainability presentations, top musicians, live Q&A sessions, and will culminate in a catwalk show on Sunday, September 15 at Lambeth Town Hall to celebrate the huge and positive impact on society of the Windrush generation.
The event is being held in contrast to the Windrush scandal, in which people from the Caribbean who were invited by the UK government to help rebuild the country after the Second World War were wrongly denied citizenship.
Olumide, who was awarded an MBE in 2017, said: “The fashion industry has long been linked to revolution, anarchy and significant change within culture and society.
“It is an area where marginalised groups have often been able to bring recognition to various serious social, economic and environmental issues within everyday life.
“This event ties those themes together and will highlight how Afro-Caribbean culture and society have had a huge influence on the British fashion scene, both in post war Britain and in the pre-colonial period. This community contribution is rarely articulated and actually stunts African, Afro-Caribbean development in the wider global fashion and art markets.
“It also serves as a repost to the terrible treatment people suffered as a result of the Windrush Scandal for the which the Government rightly had to apologise for and finally recognised by reversing their mistakes and setting up a compensation scheme.”
The Windrush generation are named after the Empire Windrush that arrived in the UK on 22 June 1948 carrying passengers from the Caribbean who were invited by the UK government to help rebuild the country after WWII. It is estimated that around 550,000 people from the Caribbean migrated to the UK between 1948 and 1973.
Cllr Sonia Winifred, Lambeth council’s Cabinet member for Cabinet Member for Equalities and Culture, is part of the Windrush Generation. She lobbied the Government to admit their errors and worked hard to support people who had been in some cases lost their jobs, homes and livelihoods because of incorrect Home Office policies.
Cllr Winifred said: “Lambeth is the heart of the Windrush community and we stand united in celebrating their contribution to re-building post-war Britain, and subsequent positive impacts on British society. We’re delighted to be working with Eunice on what will be a positive event that highlights just some of the Windrush Generation’s achievements since the ‘50s.
“This show supports our wider efforts to highlight the treatment of the Windrush generation.
This also includes campaigning for a memorial monument in Windrush Square, and really exploring the impact of the hostile environment policies on the Windrush pioneers, and the subsequent younger generations.”