Malta
Accordion top
Top made from accordion-like material featuring hand-painted details
The “Accordion Top” is a collaborative garment developed through workshops with migrant and refugee women, creating a safe space for sharing personal narratives. Inspired by traditional dress and the idea of clothing as concealment, the piece reinterprets this concept using structured, non-traditional materials.
Constructed from pleated, accordion-style fabric, the top is designed to be flexible and size-adjustable. Participants contributed by hand-painting individual sleeve panels, which were later combined into a unified design—each panel reflecting personal identity, cultural background, and artistic expression.
Made using repurposed waste fabrics and leftover materials from film and design productions, the garment highlights low-waste techniques and a sustainable, low-carbon approach. It merges contemporary materials with handcrafted elements, emphasizing both individuality and collective storytelling.
This top reinterprets the concept of clothing being used to conceal the body in a different way than is traditionally seen. It takes the same notion, usually interpreted through the use of loose, flowing fabrics and instead replaces them with rigid, more structured material of plissed polyester. The painting done by participants onto the sleeve panels also reflect the varying cultural backgrounds and personal aesthetics of our participants.
Materials: Waste fabric repurposed waste from design commissions for private clients and film and TV productions.
Deadstock thread leftover from film and TV productions.
Eco-responsible Methods: The construction made use of low waste patterning techniques, using materials which would’ve otherwise been discarded as landfill waste, the project demonstrates a high-impact, low-carbon approach to garment engineering, making use of resources that are available to us to create new items
The process
The top is made using machine pleated accordion fabric, designed to be malleable and size adjustable. The sleeves were painted by participants of the workshop, all painting individual panels that were then blended together therefore representing each individual who created it. Once these sleeve fabric was painted, the sleeves were assembled onto the base top, combining elements of craft and modern materials together in one garment through this process.
Our Team
The whole is much more than the sum of it’s part. Meet our team!
Users Participating in the project
migrant and refugee women
Sara Porteli
SUPERVISOR
Sarah Portelli is a costumier and fashion designer based and from Malta. With experience working on both local and international film productions and local theatre, her focus lays primarily on sustainable design, promoting the use of salvaged materials as well as incorporating heritage craft techniques into her work. Is-Sinjurina has extensive knowledge of both historical and contemporary tailoring techniques, having studied History of Art and Fine Arts at the University of Malta, she went on to study garment construction and atelier design at Polimoda after being awarded a scholarship in 2020. After completing her studies, she has since developed a parallel career in costume for film and television, building a career on both local and international productions, becoming the youngest Maltese costume supervisor to date.
With the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
