About the Collection
The Handsworth Riots that occurred in Birmingham in 1981 and 1985 were my main source of inspiration for this collection. Thanks to the numerous anecdotes from my father, and the many articles that I researched from newspapers that were published at the time, I learned that many long and short term factors contributed to the eruption of the riots.
During the early 1980s, unemployment was at an all-time high, which lead to a drastic increase in crime in inner city areas such as Lozells, Birmingham, where my father grew up. The Metropolitan Police responded to this phenomenon with ‘Swamp 81’, an operation which involved a huge increase in police presence in areas such as Brixton in south London. The objective of this operation was to reduce the level of crime in these inner city areas. Instead, ‘Swamp 81’ oversaw the mass discrimination and harassment of black community members through the enactment of the ‘Sus Law’: police had the power to search and arrest members of the public that they deemed ‘suspicious’. My father, a former Lozells resident, has told me many stories about the ways in which the rule of the ‘Sus Law’ created deep-seated tensions between the black community and the police. With time, these tensions amounted to what is now referred to as the Handsworth riots: a period of street warfare, protest and destruction.
I chose to create a collection that captured the essence of this battle between the police and the black community. My aim was to create a collection based on protection, destruction and warfare in order to highlight the social significance of this event in black British history. I used images from newspapers and photographs showing the scenes of the Handsworth Riots to inspire the mood of my collection. I combined the tailored style of the 80’s with contemporary streetwear. I then paired these elements with details from contemporary police riot gear to create a cross-temporal collection. The text throughout my collection derives from newspaper headlines, lyrics from ‘Handsworth Song’ by Birmingham-based reggae band, Steel Pulse, and the first stanza from Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem, ‘Two Dozen Babylon’. These texts combine to craft a story of the emotional and psychological plight of Birmingham’s black community at the time. As a proud Birmingham resident, I believe that people from Birmingham, particularly those from the black community, should always take stock of what the Handsworth riots represented then, and whether they are relevant to us now. This collection is just one of the ways that I believe that I can pay homage to this significant event in black British history.
During the early 1980s, unemployment was at an all-time high, which lead to a drastic increase in crime in inner city areas such as Lozells, Birmingham, where my father grew up. The Metropolitan Police responded to this phenomenon with ‘Swamp 81’, an operation which involved a huge increase in police presence in areas such as Brixton in south London. The objective of this operation was to reduce the level of crime in these inner city areas. Instead, ‘Swamp 81’ oversaw the mass discrimination and harassment of black community members through the enactment of the ‘Sus Law’: police had the power to search and arrest members of the public that they deemed ‘suspicious’. My father, a former Lozells resident, has told me many stories about the ways in which the rule of the ‘Sus Law’ created deep-seated tensions between the black community and the police. With time, these tensions amounted to what is now referred to as the Handsworth riots: a period of street warfare, protest and destruction.
I chose to create a collection that captured the essence of this battle between the police and the black community. My aim was to create a collection based on protection, destruction and warfare in order to highlight the social significance of this event in black British history. I used images from newspapers and photographs showing the scenes of the Handsworth Riots to inspire the mood of my collection. I combined the tailored style of the 80’s with contemporary streetwear. I then paired these elements with details from contemporary police riot gear to create a cross-temporal collection. The text throughout my collection derives from newspaper headlines, lyrics from ‘Handsworth Song’ by Birmingham-based reggae band, Steel Pulse, and the first stanza from Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem, ‘Two Dozen Babylon’. These texts combine to craft a story of the emotional and psychological plight of Birmingham’s black community at the time. As a proud Birmingham resident, I believe that people from Birmingham, particularly those from the black community, should always take stock of what the Handsworth riots represented then, and whether they are relevant to us now. This collection is just one of the ways that I believe that I can pay homage to this significant event in black British history.
Respect Existence or Expect Resistance...
