Refugee dress-tent to raise awareness

Dubai - Helen Storey wants a model to walk the streets and malls of Dubai and other cities to create awareness of the refugee crisis and their suffering.

A fashion designer who has dressed Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, has created a dress out of a refugee tent from the Zaatari Camp in Jordan.
Helen Storey wants a model to walk the streets and malls of Dubai and other cities to create awareness of the refugee crisis and their suffering.
Storey is showcasing the UNHCR tent-dress at this year's Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development (DIHDA) Conference & Exhibition. A model was seen walking through the exhibition with the dress on.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Storey said: "I was trying to find a way where fashion could contribute in a different manner. So rather than selling more stuff, we could use the tent as a way of engaging people with other things around the world.
"I think when people look at fashion, their defences are down and when they see a UNHCR logo, they become curious - they think 'what's that doing on a dress' and where's that girl going. I think what we found is that by using fashion in this method, it allows people to connect to the issue in a way that makes them feel less impotent, scared or fearful, because you're using fashion as the door in. They see fashion first and then they see the issue. It means they are more open to the conversation you want to have - it's a conversation starter."
Storey said she became involved in world affairs after realising that she wanted to use her skills to engage with more people. "I was a fashion designer in the 1980s and '90s and dressed people like Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson, but towards the end of the 90s, I got interested in world affairs. I was trying to find a way where fashion might contribute in a different way.
"One past project has been allowing your clothes to purify air by working with a scientist and this project, I think, is how to connect the world with the big issue around refugees. My instinct is that this will never go away. That we're a species on the move, and there are certain parts of the world that are very resistant and unsympathetic to what they're going through. I'm trying to use the arts and fashion in service to this," she said. Storey will be returning to Dubai in October and is trying to get permission from relevant authorities to allow the dress to be displayed in public areas.
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai