How Storytelling and Repurposing Can Drive Systemic Change in Global Fashion

Your model has pioneered inclusive employment by involving newcomers directly in design and craftsmanship. What key elements of this approach do you think are essential to its success, and how might they be adopted more widely across the industry? 
Ambrose Jude: The key to building a successful company lies in sustainable thinking and management. Empowering newcomers requires different approaches, because each individual has experienced challenges we can’t fully comprehend.

I speak from experience, I come from a refugee background myself, BUT I had the privilege of growing up in the UAE before moving to the Netherlands, and that perspective has shaped how I see integration and growth. One thing I strongly believe is that we should remove the label of “newcomer” when talking about someone’s potential. That label, if overused, can unintentionally affect their confidence and limit their willingness to express themselves.

Instead, we should create safe spaces where everyone can simply be who they are, learning, developing, and expanding their horizons. Their background should not be used to define or diminish them, but to empower them, reminding them that they are strong enough to have survived those circumstances and to rebuild everything from scratch in a new country.

Most importantly, we must value their skills, talent, and patience. Without their hard work, the fashion industry as we know it would not exist. From craftsmanship to creativity, newcomers have been, and will continue to be an essential force shaping the future of fashion.

Makers Unite offers end-to-end support—from concept development and sourcing to product realisation. In your experience, where does this comprehensive model deliver the greatest impact—for creativity, for empowerment, or for sustainability? 
Ambrose Jude: For me, the greatest impact is in empowerment, because that’s what fuels both creativity and sustainability. When newcomers are involved from concept to final product, they’re not just executing someone else’s vision, they’re contributing their own ideas, skills, and perspective. That ownership builds confidence. Sustainability benefits too, because when the people making the product feel connected to its story and purpose, there’s a deeper respect for the process.

Upcycling isn’t just a technique—it’s a storytelling tool in your practice, giving materials a second life with rich meaning. How do you approach the balance between narrative, design quality, and production viability when working with such reclaimed materials? 
Ambrose Jude: Let me start by reframing the term: I prefer repurposing rather than upcycling, because what we’re doing is giving a garment or material a new purpose. For me, every piece carries a story, its past life, the hands that worked on it, the journey it’s been through, and my role is to honor that narrative while transforming it into something functional and beautiful.

Balancing storytelling, design quality, and production viability is always a careful act. I start with the material itself: understanding its strengths, and weaknesses. The narrative guides the concept, what the garment wants to say but design quality ensures it’s timeless and wearable, not just symbolic. Production viability comes last, but it’s crucial: a garment must be made responsibly and with respect for the craft involved, so the story is not lost in compromise.

For me, repurposing is about creating meaning without sacrificing excellence. It’s where creativity, and craftsmanship intersect, and when done well, it elevates both the material and the narrative it carries.

Your expansion to a production atelier in Istanbul has helped scale both capacity and impact. What cultural or operational insights have emerged from working across these hubs, and how have they influenced your model of inclusive, sustainable production? 
Ambrose Jude: We currently operate only in the Netherlands, still figuring out how to re-work in Istanbul.

Collaboration is a core tenet—working with creatives and brands to amplify diverse perspectives. How do you ensure this co-creation remains respectful and equitable, especially when integrating voices from newcomer communities. 
Ambrose Jude: Respectful and equitable co-creation starts with shared authorship. We make sure newcomer voices are present from the very beginning (starting by concept, design, and decision-making) so they’re not just participants, but co-owners of the creative process. That means listening deeply, and avoiding any “pity marketing.”

We also create safe creative spaces where people can express themselves without the pressure of representing their entire background or community. By focusing on skills, ideas, and individuality first, we ensure collaborations are built on mutual respect, equal opportunity, and genuine creative exchange.

Makers Unite combines sustainable practice and inclusion—two complex paradigms. What key operational or value-based trade-offs have you navigated between environmental responsibility, craft quality, and social impact? 
Ambrose Jude: With Makers Unite, the balance between environmental responsibility, and social impact is always intentional and sometimes it requires difficult trade-offs. For example, working with repurposed materials means the supply is irregular, which can challenge consistency in production quality. But that irregularity is also what gives each piece its story and authenticity, so compromising uniformity becomes part of the design philosophy.

You aim to shift global narratives around migration through thoughtful, handcrafted design. How do you measure the impact of this goal—both in terms of public perception and the confidence or agency of the newcomers themselves? 
Ambrose Jude: We measure impact on two levels. In terms of public perception, it’s about seeing a shift in how people understand migration, from a story of hardship to one of empowerment, and contribution. When people engage with a repurposed garment or a thoughtfully crafted piece, I want them to see the skill, the care, and the human story behind it, rather than just a label of “newcomer.”

The second level is confidence. Success isn’t just in the final product, it’s in seeing someone take ownership of their craft, develop new skills, and feel proud of what they’ve built. When a newcomer can envision a future in fashion, share their creativity openly, and influence design decisions, that’s real impact.

Ultimately, it’s about creating a feedback loop: the more society values the work and narrative, the more empowered the makers feel, and that empowerment becomes visible in both their craft and the way they carry themselves.

Looking ahead, how do you see models like Makers Unite reshaping the broader textiles and apparel industry? What systemic changes—whether in hiring norms, production practices, or storytelling—do you hope this approach inspires over the next five years? 
Ambrose Jude: With the current political and economic climate, I believe we’re on the brink of a major shift toward local production and repurposing what’s already been made. Upcycling won’t just be a niche, it will become a necessity. As new rules and regulations force brands to rethink their textile waste, companies will have to design with circularity in mind from the very beginning.

The movement we’ve seen toward transparency introducing who made our garments will be crucial, but it must be done with integrity. We can’t exploit people’s stories for pity-driven marketing. Instead, we need to create authentic connections between maker and wearer that build respect, not charity.

In hiring, I see a future where we focus less on competition and more on cooperation, passing down skills rather than guarding them. At Makers Unite and beyond, that means giving newcomers not just jobs, but the chance to climb the skills ladder, to grow into masters of their craft.

I want to integrate the youth of newcomer communities into tailoring, so they can carry these skills forward. Craft must be kept alive, and in the hands of young creatives, it will not only survive, but evolve, expanding the very definition of production and repurposing in the fashion industry.

Over the next five years, if models like Makers Unite can influence the system at scale, I believe we’ll see a new design economy emerge: one where garments are made to last, materials are respected, and every stitch carries a story.