The Graduating Class of 2025 in Textile Design showcased mixed-media and innovative work in their thesis projects. From material-specific installations to the delicate techniques of Baatik and Sozni, students demonstrated just how vast the field of textile design can be.
Textiles can never exist in a vacuum, as can any cultural practice. This year, there was marked attention to political reality and positionality. The traditional and the contemporary are brought together to highlight the importance of knowing a craft’s history in imagining its future. There was intense focus on the geographically rooted crafts of the Lungi, the Ajrak, Bandhani and more Sindh-based textiles.
Fatima Muhammad, in her project, In Every Stitch, A Story: Life with the Artisans of Tharparker, offers an intimate look into each step of the Bandhani process. Informed by her experience with the artisans of Mitthi, she uses embroidery on top of tied and dyed fabric as a documentation of the land. The different types of knots and natural pigments used in the dyes sit alongside the work, a quiet reflection of its genesis.
Similarly, Kinza Khalid Khan tells a personal story connected to the land in her work Threads of Silence: Unfolding the Duality of Kashmir. Shaped by the stories of her grandparents, Khan’s work takes the form of Sozni, a form of embroidery native to Kashmir. It is known for its precision and delicate stitching. Khan draws a topographical map with motifs and symbols using this technique. A battlefield, tanks, gazelles, and rivers dot the stretch of fabric and the land Khan speaks of. Some areas of the fabric are frayed at the ends. Sometimes, the quiet part is said out loud.
Fabrics in the form of cushions and decor carry a similar level of care and attention to detail. Aisha Qazi, in her project, The Craft of Sindhi Lungi, investigates the woven Sindhi lungi and transmutes it into contemporary home textiles. Studying the weaving, color palettes, and process closely, Qazi presents a fresh take on a blend of the traditional and the modern.
Collectively, the projects reveal a thoughtful engagement with material, memory, and meaning, where tradition becomes a living, evolving language. These young designers ultimately reaffirm craft as a powerful medium for storytelling, reflection and cultural continuity.