Welcoming The Red Dress

The famous Red Dress came to visit TWR, together with its creator Kirstie Macleod.  She had two interested audiences, Ukrainians and then Arabic, both of whom were mesmerised by the stories and craftsmanship that are woven into this special dress.

She showed us a particular panel which was created by Ukrainian refugees in Poland this spring, and people were greatly moved by a video clip of them singing whilst sewing.  Meanwhile in the Arabic group we had Thoraya, a lady who had actually embroidered onto the dress itself in January.  She had chosen a Jasmine flower to represent Damascus.  Every stitch means such a lot to so many different people around the world.  It really is so much more than a work of art.

Because Iran was not represented on the dress so far, and because of the troubles that women are facing there particularly at the present time, an idea was conceived today to add another piece of embroidery.  Monir is going to collaborate with other Iranian women to design a new panel.  This is important to her to be able to create something beautiful in response to the sad reports on the news. It is really exciting that this opportunity has presented itself.

What a special day we had.