Osman Yousefzada Interviewed by Sally Bayley

Renowned artist and fashion designer Osman Yousefzada talks about his memoir of growing up in a migrant Pashtun community in 1980s and 1990s Birmingham and of his struggles with racism and community expectations and his realisation that it was not possible to exist in the spaces in between.

Yousefzada reflects on a range of issues including the difficulty of learning new cultural codes in communities where different ideologies are competing, legacy of empire, the rise of the far right, religious fundamentalism, girls’ rights, masculinity, cultural segregation, and creative inspiration.

Yousefzada is an award-winning fashion designer who has shown his work internationally including at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Design Museum London, Ringling Museum in Florida, and Cincinnati Art Museum in Ohio. His designs are worn by celebrities including Beyoncé and Emma Watson. Here he talks to writer and English lecturer Dr Sally Bayley.