Oct 28, 2025
"Made in Pakistant," Neckpiece by Abbe Mandegar
Made in Pakistan (2024) reflects Abbas Mandegar’s (b. 1999) own experiences with pain and anxiety as a child labourer in garment factories in Pakistan. A refugee from Afghanistan, Mandegar’s childhood was filled with sewing tools, instead of toys. Now a designer based in Sweden, Mandegar incorporates the tools of fashion – scissors, pins and sewing machine bobbins – into the garments as symbols of struggle and survival.
The geometrical ornamentation pays homage to the Hazara, the designer’s native Afghan tribe. Mandegar is reclaiming his childhood and immigrant story, as well as highlighting the human suffering involved in global, fast fashion.
Courtesy: Espoo Museum of Modern Art (EMMA).
