NiTRO + Creative Matters

Perspectives on creative arts in higher education

From Hand-Stitched Memories to Sustainable Futures: Navigating the Australian Education System as a Global Learner

BY WAJIHA PERVEZ — My favourite childhood memory is excitedly climbing onto my grandmother’s shoulders as she sat in her sewing corner, delicately stitching my clothes. It was her love language. She hand-stitched my clothes for every special occasion: birthdays, Eid, and my auntie’s wedding.

I loved them because her clothes made me feel powerful and seen. When she passed away, I clung to that memory. It set me on the path towards making textiles my profession.

A traditional hand-stitched patchwork Pakistani dress made by my grandma (Photo credit: Samina Pervez)

My early textile and fashion education in Pakistan exposed me to a stark duality in the industry. On one hand, the massive local textile industry catered to the domestic market. On the other hand, most of these industries had an export wing which supplied garments in mass surplus for global fast fashion and sporting brands. During factory visits, I was confronted with the harsh reality of the industry – chemical stench, water contamination, vast amounts of byproduct and waste and routine dismissals of environmental concerns. My Bachelor of Fine Arts training experience was filled with questions about sustainability that went unanswered. My brief stint working in the Pakistani garment industry didn’t reconcile the glamorous front-end image with the wasteful back-end practices. The tragic Rana Plaza disaster in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that claimed the lives of over a thousand garment workers, compelled me to return to school to seek answers – especially regarding the social and ecological impact of the Global West’s textile demand on the Global South.

My perspective on design as a reaction to consumer demands changed during my Master of Fine Arts study at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Qatar campus in 2015, when I was introduced to speculative design thinking. For the first time, I learned that design can be approached as a mode that can explore questions and possibilities for challenging the norm. This revelation pushed me towards speculative material and experimental textiles research, leading me to consult in fabric and leather research and development in the Netherlands post-graduation. It brought me face to face with the problem of petrochemical-based materials in fitness and athleisure clothing – a journey that eventually brought me to Australian higher education.

MFA thesis work – In-flight slippers and hospitality accessories made with upcycled denim, sisal and hemp paper  (Photo Credit:  Wajiha Pervez & Abdul Rahman Anwar)

My academic research in Australia has been a transformative experience. For the first time in my design career, I aligned my studio practice towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal no. 12, to ‘ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns’. Through my practice, I question the petrochemical-based materiality of athleisure clothing and the underlying problem of uncapped production coupled with exponential financial growth. It contrasts sharply with my production-focussed training. However, it aligns more with my craft-based cultural and family history. My studio practice makes space to dissect and reimagine the relationship between athleisure clothing and the active human body. It allows me to question everything from fitness trends to the concept of an active female body, and cutting-room waste to the materiality and production sustainability of athleisure clothing.

Image 4: MPhil research – Zero-waste experimental hand-smocked linen athleisure garments. (Photo Credit: Romon Yang)

In my ongoing PhD research I work with generative AI, seamless knitting, and natural materials such as linen and Australian merino wool to develop zero-waste, designer-led, on-demand athleisure production. The collaboration with generative AI enables me to reverse the linear fashion production model that relies on trend forecasting towards informed surplus production to an on-demand circular, zero-waste model that relies on user engagement before the garment is made. By using Australian merino wool, a naturally sweat-wicking and compostable material, I also question the athleisure materiality and reliance of the industry on petrochemical blends which have documented environmental and health concerns. 

100% Merino wool digital athleisure garment prototypes made in collaboration with generative AI. (Render Credits: Wajiha Pervez & Midjourney) 

Through years of navigating the complexities of global textile and fashion systems, academia and research, I have come to see research as a space to ask pressing questions about sustainability, materiality and ethics. It is also a space to test and reimagine assumptions about design and production. Witnessing large-scale pollution, exploitative labor practices, and excessive textile waste in Pakistan firsthand highlighted the urgency for systemic change to slow down the waste and climate emergency perpetuated by excessive textile and fashion production. In Qatar, my work shifted towards a speculative approach. I relied on my consumption patterns and the community to access waste streams in a country where textile waste remains invisible mainly due to restrictive policies.

My research in the Netherlands centered on material development, particularly in sustainable textiles and leather. I engaged with the ongoing debate on the acceleration of vegan materials to lower the environmental stress caused by the cultivation and processing of natural leather, cotton and silk. Realising the paradox of plastic-based alternatives and their further potential to perpetuate uncapped clothing production and health concerns, I started engaging with the concept of degrowth. Drawing from my Pakistani background, where bespoke garment production and body-inclusive tailoring are deeply ingrained, my research practice aims to shift everyday athleisure clothing from unchecked expansion to a cycle of degrowth and regrowth – degrowth in pollutive and exploitative practices and regrowth in compostable materials, responsible production methods, and a more mindful relationship between clothing and the human body.

Wajiha Pervez is an experimental textile designer, artist, and academic with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and circular economy in apparel and textiles. Her work has been showcased globally, including Australia, Dubai, Qatar, Italy, Russia, the U.K., and Iran. She has been an artist in residence at Qatar Museums, where she explored traditional weaving techniques. She has also curated exhibitions and taught at various institutions in Qatar, the Netherlands, Poland and Australia. Her work has received grants from Qatar Foundation, Qatar Science and Technology Park. She has received media recognition for her research with generative AI and athleisure clothing from the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Morning Herald, Arts hub and UTS Lx Lab. 

Main image: 100% Merino wool digital athleisure garment prototypes made in collaboration with generative AI. (Render Credits: Wajiha Pervez & Midjourney)

More from this issue

METHODOLOGIES IN FLUX

NAVIGATING CULTURAL TRANSLATION IN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE RESEARCH — This paper examines the methodological tensions and transformations in my practice-led research

Read More +
PROLIFERATING VOIDS

GENDER’S PRESENCE IN GENDERLESS NARRATIVES — In an experimental attempt to avoid all gendered markers while writing my unpublished novel,

Read More +
WHEN AI MEETS CYBERPUNK

CREATIVE EMPOWERMENT OR CRITICAL DISSOLUTION? — This paper investigates the pronounced tension between ‘creative empowerment’ and ‘critical dissolution’ at the

Read More +
WALKING WOLLONGONG

As a creative researcher-in-the-making, I am exploring how to practice accountability in the unresolved cultural context of the environmental crisis

Read More +
GIVING IT A NAME

INTEGRATING FAMILY ADDICTION TRAUMA THROUGH EMBODIED CREATIVE RESEARCH — This article explores how the phenomenon of ‘affective ambush’(Maguire & Deller

Read More +

More from this issue

IN THE PRACTICE OF MAKING CHANGE
  • CHLOE CANNELL, JULIETTE SAUVAGE, KENDREA RHODES, L. NICOL CABE
REVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS IN CREATIVE PRACTICE RESEARCH AT THE CONVERGENCE OF CRITICAL, CREATIVE, THEORETICAL, AND ACADEMIC SPACES
Read more +
METHODOLOGIES IN FLUX
  • PATRICIA AMORIM
NAVIGATING CULTURAL TRANSLATION IN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE RESEARCH — This paper examines the methodological tensions and transformations in my practice-led research exploring photographic representation of gendered bodies across Brazilian and Australian cultural contexts. Through analysing my evolving methodology, I demonstrate how convergence of feminist epistemology, decolonial theory, and photographic practice generates new knowledge at the intersection of theory and creative production.
Read more +
RECALIBRATION OF THE PĀLI JĀTAKAS THROUGH SPECTER AND SAMSARĀ
  • MESH TENNAKOON
This paper reflects on a methodology within a Creative Writing PhD that recalibrates selected Buddhist Pāli Jātakas through a parallel reading of Derrida’s Specters of Marx and Buddhist texts on samsarā (rebirth). This cross-cultural dialogue provides a nuanced context for rearticulating the Jātakas. The project’s ‘middle-way methodology’ avoids privileging either Western or Buddhist frameworks and adapts Smith and Dean’s (2009) ‘iterative cyclic web’ through oscillations across creative writing, cross-cultural reading, and critical inquiry.
Read more +
PROLIFERATING VOIDS
  • OSCAR DAVIS
GENDER’S PRESENCE IN GENDERLESS NARRATIVES — In an experimental attempt to avoid all gendered markers while writing my unpublished novel, Static Sun, Phantom Breath, traces of gender seemed to still appear and, in turn, complicate the presence/absence binary. Inspired by Anne Garréta’s novel Sphinx and her exploration of how genderless characters expand understands of love and writing form, this paper reflects on the logocentric restrictions and aporetic opportunities that come from textually avoiding gender.
Read more +
REHEARSING THE INSTITUTION: ARTISTIC LABOUR AND PEDAGOGICAL TRACE
  • BENJAMIN WATERS
'The past inside the present' (2023) begins with surfaces: inscribed, weathered, and imbued with pedagogical significance. The research involves reconsidering reclaimed art school studio tabletops as artefacts of accumulated gestures. It focuses on investigating how artistic labour and the relational custodianship of educational practices become systematically blurred within contemporary institutional frameworks of higher education.
Read more +
WHEN AI MEETS CYBERPUNK
  • NEO XIA
CREATIVE EMPOWERMENT OR CRITICAL DISSOLUTION? — This paper investigates the pronounced tension between 'creative empowerment' and 'critical dissolution' at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cyberpunk, a genre defined by its critical engagement with technology. Grounded in my reflexive practice of generating cyberpunk transmedia (images) using AI, this study analyses how these tools – despite affording creative efficiencies and expanded visual capabilities – may undermine cyberpunk's intrinsic critical spirit, DIY ethos, and narrative depth.
Read more +
BODY OF RESEARCH, BODY OF WORK
  • SARAH GORY
GENERATIVE TENSION IN THE CREATIVE WRITING PHD — Scholars such as Professor Nigel Krauth (2011, 2018) argue that there is an inherent tension between the ‘radical experimentation’ required to innovate in the discipline of creative writing, and the standard exegetical models, orthodoxies and conventional positions of the PhD thesis. In response, this essay looks to the role of structure in the creative writing PhD thesis, asking how experimenting with standard exegetical models can be generative for practice and research.
Read more +
WALKING WOLLONGONG
  • JULIE SMYTHE
As a creative researcher-in-the-making, I am exploring how to practice accountability in the unresolved cultural context of the environmental crisis and ongoing intersectional colonising injustice. To address this, I have developed a sidewise ethics of practice that begins with my own unresolved settler cultural understanding of the foreshores of the city of Wollongong on the New South Wales South Coast.
Read more +
BECOMING THROUGH COMPLEXITY 
  • PAULINA LAROCCA
DEVELOPING THE TRANSDISCIPLINARY INQUIRY MODEL IN CREATIVE PRACTICE RESEARCH — This article reflects on the development of the Transdisciplinary Inquiry Model (TIM) as both a methodological framework and a record of my becoming as a creative researcher. Developed during my doctoral research through practice-led inquiry, TIM integrates imagination, embodiment, and relationality to navigate the tensions of knowledge production across disciplines.
Read more +
POPULAR GENRE FICTION IN THE CREATIVE WRITING DOCTORATE
  • SARAI MANNOLINI-WINWOOD
COMMERCIALLY VIABLE, ACADEMICALLY FOCUSED, OR BOTH? — Nicola Boyd (2009) declared there is a strong chance of publishing a creative work developed from the creative writing doctorate. But how does this work when the creative output is deeply entwined with academic methodology, especially when the output is popular genre fiction with its own rules and industry expectations for commercial publication?
Read more +
GIVING IT A NAME
  • ANA LOUISA DAVIS
INTEGRATING FAMILY ADDICTION TRAUMA THROUGH EMBODIED CREATIVE RESEARCH — This article explores how the phenomenon of ‘affective ambush’(Maguire & Deller 2024), influenced the creative practice as research involved in the production of my creative artefact 'The Lighthouse: Personal Essays on the Transgenerational Haunting of Addiction'. Affective ambush occurs when a scholar experiences an unexpected emotional reaction to their academic research.
Read more +
PRACTICE-BASED TOOLS FOR SELF-EXPRESSION
  • BREE GLASBERGEN
SUPPORTING WOMEN TO CLAIM THEIR VOICES POST-VIOLENCE — Can creative self-expression support women to gain or claim their voices? This research explores the dialogic nature of self-reflective questions in oracle cards as provocations for theatre and investigates if and how these provocations can assist women with self-expression. A sample deck of oracle cards – including self-reflective questions – were crafted and then tested as provocations for playwriting.
Read more +
IS THERE ENOUGH SCIENCE IN THIS FICTION?
  • SARAH MOULD
REFLECTIONS ON GENRE WRITING AND CREATIVE PRACTICE RESEARCH — Nearly three years into my creative practice PhD in which I wrote multiple fat and queer science fiction short stories, my supervisor asked: Is there enough science in them? This question has since underpinned my understanding of the ‘perennially revised’ (Latham 2017, p.8) genre borders of literary science fiction, and the ‘validity and rigour of practice-led research’ (Gandolfo 2012, p. 64) in academic institutions.
Read more +
WRITING THE ANTHROPOCENE
  • SIMON-PETER TELFORD
STRANGE LOOP METHODOLOGY AND THE WRITER AS RESEARCHER — This article presents Smelting, a lyrical-poetic-prose hybrid that performs creative writing as recursive inquiry through Boyd’s Strange Loop methodology. The work loops through narrative, reflection, and fragmentation to explore writing in the Anthropocene where meaning, identity, and climate collapse entangle. The writer is positioned not as commentator but as participant and epistemic agent, embodying the writer-as-researcher ethos within a practice-based research PhD.
Read more +
Risk in the Institution
BY DAVID CROSS and CAMERON BISHOP — Perhaps it is appropriate that the etymology of risk is caught between two competing meanings. The Italian word risco loosely translates to cliff which implies that negotiating said cliff is not for the fainthearted.
Read more +
The Risks of Composition in the White Cube
BY DANNY BUTT — On Khaled Sabsabi, the Memo panel and the limits of rhetorical solidarity (excerpt)
Read more +
When Institutions Choose Control Over Creativity
BY DARIO VACIRCA — In the age of virality, censorship is a risky business. We’ve seen it play out time and time again: an attempt to bury an idea or image only ends up amplifying it.
Read more +
Bent Nails Trace Risk: Lessons from an Adventure Playground
BY NADIA ODLUM — This contribution draws upon my experience researching and learning within an adventure playground, and considers what these environments (and the people who facilitate them) might teach us about conditions that allow for a positive approach to risk.
Read more +
Hacking with Hope at the Hollow of the University
BY FIONA HILLARY, CAMERON BISHOP and DAVID CROSS — Since the pandemic further upended certainties about what a university should do to build culture, our once bustling campuses have increasingly come to resemble empty husks – hollowed out not just by lockdowns and the attendant absence from campus, but by decades of neoliberal corporatisation.
Read more +
Risking Complexity: Deferring Judgement as an Act of Creative Resistance
BY PAULINA LAROCCA — Risk – from the Italian risicare, ‘to dare’ – carries both danger and possibility, offering transformative rewards when one embraces uncertainty (Bernstein, 1996).
Read more +