ULAB turns waste into fashion statement

Necropolitics— a social or political power that determines who gets to live and who does not. Just the thought of this unfair monstrosity makes one shiver, doesn't it? But it is the way of the world now. To make a bold statement against necropolitics all around the world, The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) presented "Rupantor: The Resonance Show", a sustainability-focused fashion and performance project that transformed discarded materials into wearable narratives, with design, movement and social reflection.

Curated by artist and educator AFM Moniruzzaman Shipu, the production explored how waste can be recontextualised not only as clothing but also as storytelling material. 

Photo: Courtesy

This year's edition introduced necropolitics as its central theme, approached through performance, gesture and costume rather than explicit narration. Models moved across the stage as performers, allowing garments constructed from paper, plastic, metal fragments and fabric remnants to suggest ideas of power, consumption and visibility.

Each team addressed a different manifestation of tyranny. One performance examined sexual violence, using restrained choreography to show how control is exercised over women's bodies. Another highlighted the fashion industry itself, contrasting flashy garments with the invisible labour of underpaid workers who sustain global brands. Corporate cruelty emerged in the figure of a powerful businessman, whose confident stride concealed the routine abuse of employees.

Photo: Courtesy

Several stories turned inward, focusing on domestic and institutional spaces. A perverse husband's domination of his wife reflected how patriarchy operates behind closed doors, while another segment examined how the press distorts truth to serve those in power. Authority and ambition surfaced again in a reimagining of Cleopatra, where a justice-seeking slave is eliminated to preserve rule.

Photo: Courtesy

Global structures of exploitation were also brought to the stage. One performance focused on Africa, drawing attention to the extraction of natural resources while local communities remain dispossessed. Others depicted tyrants ruling through fear, as well as the Aynaaghar—a metaphorical house of mirrors—where surveillance, intimidation and psychological control replace visible force.

Despite the weight of its themes, "The Resonance Show" avoided overt narration. Instead, it relied on symbolic costuming created from recycled materials, allowing the garments themselves to echo ideas of disposability and value. The runway became a performative space where fashion and movement worked in sending a powerful message to the audience.

Photo: Courtesy

Held on December 12 at the Chitrashala Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the 70-minute presentation was attended by distinguished guest Dr. Syed Moynul Alam Nizar, an associate professor of Jahangirnagar University.

Through its nine stories,The Resonance Show suggested that tyranny rarely announces itself. Instead, it takes shape within everyday systems—workplaces, homes, media and markets—where power is exercised quietly, and awareness becomes the first form of resistance.