Bunker Talk #141: Andrew Ibi

Andrew Ibi in conversation with Dr Paul Micklethwaite (Reader in Design Innovation)

Andrew Ibi is a designer, activist, artist, curator, dj and educator. He is currently the programme leader for the BA Fashion: Design & Communication course at Liverpool John Moores Univeristy, visiting professor at Middlesex University and External Examiner at The RCA and Westminster Fashion. Awarded Graduate of the Year at Middlesex University in 1996, starting his career at Joe Casely-Hayford, Ibi went on to head up menswear design for Burlington and Club Monaco, before embarking on his own successful fashion labels. In 2008, Ibi launched award-winning cult retail concept space, The Convenience Store, stocking high-end, luxury womenswear including Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh and Maison Margiela. In 2019, Ibi launched the arthouse swimwear brand, E.Macbean with his partner Eleanor, debuting during London Fashion Week 2019 with a presentation that explored the tensions between the female body and the fashion gaze. Alongside Harris Elliot and Jason Jules, Ibi co-founded The BOLD Agency (The Black Orientated Legacy Development Agency) in 2020, working in partnership with the British Fashion Council and the Institute of Positive Fashion on numerous initiatives focused on inclusion and diversity, intent on changing the narrative around Black British fashion and its contribution to British culture. The BOLD Agency curated ground breaking major UK exhibition ‘ The Missing Thread’ in 2023/4 at Somerset House, London, exploring the missing narratives and untold stories of Black British fashion culture from 1970-2005, simultaneously presenting the first major archival Joe Casely-Hayford exhibition.

2020 also saw the co-founding of FACE, Fashion and the Arts Creating Equality, an active network of Black educators lobbying for educational change and equity with a goal of connecting academic work with industry practice. Joining the dots and sitting on the British Fashion Council diversity & inclusivity steering committee was a key factor in Ibi initiating the MA Joe Casely-Hayford Scholarship Award, a legacy of The Missing Thread. Currently, Ibi is working on a new project, The Jazz Carnival, aiming to reposition and reconnect Jazz music and style back to Black communities in Manchester and London through events, exhibitions, performances and interventions.

Bunker Talks

This event is part of Bunker Talks. Bunker Talks invite artists and researchers to talk about who they are and what they do. Curated by the Performance Research Group at Manchester School of Art, Bunker Talks explore geopolitical, ecological or economic concerns. The talks create space for critical encounters, presentations, provocation and dialogue.

Originally conceived in the pandemic to explore how artists, writers, curators and researchers continued to make and share their work, live Bunker Talks now take place at The Salutation every month. Since 2020, over 140 talks have been hosted by Art & Performance Researchers and colleagues from across the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. All talks are recorded, edited, captioned and then archived to create an online catalogue, capturing how artists, makers and curators think about the world today. Find previous talks here: https://www.art.mmu.ac.uk/bunkertalks/

Host or Publisher MIGS: Migration & Interdisciplinary Global Studies