Karrot – Kitch
September 14, 2025 - September 14, 2025
Kitch – the fashion show held at Tate Modern a year ago by young south Londoners thanks to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Karrot Project – was an evening to remember.
Kitch – the fashion show held at Tate Modern a year ago by young south Londoners thanks to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Karrot Project – was an evening to remember. The teenage models that night, wearing collections designed by their peers, would not have looked out of place on any Milan, Paris or New York catwalk. The thousand friends, family and supporters in the audience raised the roof. But that wasn’t where the success ended.
Since then one young participant has secured a professional modelling contract, one of the young designers has helped with Lenny Henry’s wardrobe, a young dancer has been choreographing other youngster’s routines, two Southwark girls have had their clothes on display in Top Shop’s flagship Oxford Circus store, and one young lady has got a place at Toni & Guy’s hairdressing academy. Young people have not only taken a boost in self-confidence and a whole new set of skills from this initiative, but some of them have got jobs off the back of it too.
Karrot engages and inspires Southwark young people in a variety of creative ways, not just through fashion. In the past year the project has run a pair of forensics lectures at the Royal Institution, sleepovers in the galleries of the National Science Museum, trips to fly birds of prey at Eagle Heights, recorded an album of young people’s music, created an anthology of children’s aspirations, helped Southwark teenagers campaign against knives and guns, and staged a young people’s exhibition in Camberwell College of Arts.
Karrot is on the brink of being rolled out into six other places nationally in 2005, so watch this space – whispers are already going around about a Karrot pan-London youth fashion show.
The Karrot Team is grateful for the ongoing interest and support it receives from London Fashion Forum. If you would like to know more about the Karrot Project, please visit www.karrot.org.uk
