Do You Know the History of Cotton? Artist Nikesha Breeze on Honouring her Ancestors and the Story of Colonial Cotton

About this episode

Clare Press interviews artist Nikesha Breeze about the history of cotton and its colonial ties, exploring themes of art, self-care, and social justice.

This week, I bring you an interview with the fascinating artist Nikesha Breeze. Their Living Histories project explores African diasporic stories, and was a standout at this year's Biennale of Sydney. The fashion connection? Cotton's colonial history. Maybe you (rightly) love cotton as a beautiful, breathable natural fibre, and routinely choose it over synthetics. Me too! But how much do you know know about the commodity's troubling history, and its links with slavery in the US? The textiles that we wear never exist in isolation, and it's the human stories that unlock meaning. Also up for discussion: art's role in catalysing change; self-care; the healing powers of sound; capitalism and the commodification of time; our relationship to place, land and each other; how corporations profit from the prison industrial complex - and even make clothing using prison labour. Recorded in person at the 25th Biennale of Sydney. If you find the interview valuable, please help us share it. Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.com Support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.com Tell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Follow Nikesha @nikeshabreeze…

People in this episode

Host: Clare

Guest: Nikesha Breeze

Topics covered

• history of cotton
• colonialism
• slavery
• African diasporic stories
• art and change
• self-care
• capitalism
• prison industrial complex

Keywords

• Biennale of Sydney
• Living Histories project
• textiles
• human stories

Mentioned in this episode

Products: cotton

Books & works: Honouring her Ancestors and the Story of Colonial Cotton, Living Histories

Places: US

More episodes of WARDROBE CRISIS with Clare Press

• Encore - How Michael Preysman Built Everlane · June 3, 2026 · 38 min
• Helena Norberg Hodge - Globalisation Has Failed Us. What Now? · April 9, 2026 · 59 min
• Dark Matter Labs' Indy Johar on Planetary Civics and a new Vision for Fashion's Future · March 25, 2026 · 54 min
• A Forest Story - Adventures in Tasmania's Magical Temperate Rainforest · March 20, 2026 · 1h 6m
• Ethics, Embroidery and Which Stories Get Told, Wafa Ghnaim on the Power and Practice of Palestinian Dress · March 8, 2026 · 59 min
• A Wardrobe Crisis Listener on Learning Tatreez Embroidery to Connect with her Palestinian Culture · February 28, 2026 · 36 min