East London’s rag trade

For 250 years, east London has been a hub for clothing manufacturing, often driven by the entrepreneurial craft and skills of newly arrived communities, like French Huguenots in the 1700s, Eastern European Jews in the 1800s and Bangladeshi migrants in the 1960s. These contemporary menswear designs were made in east London and are steeped in textile history: Sibling’s blue ‘toile de Jouy’ style print shows scenes from the 2011 east London riots while Rahemur Rahman’s 2021 denim ensemble honours his father’s legacy as a local tailor.

Written by: Georgia Haseldine, Senior Curator, V&A East

Published: April 2026

Collecting Stories