The Singh Twins: Slaves of Fashion

A global city: connections, reflections and exceptions

Through a series of events, the Museum of Liverpool is looking to explore what makes Liverpool a ‘global city’ and how its history and culture have been shaped by, and continue to influence, the world around it.

The Singh Twins: Slaves of Fashion

It’s a proud moment for Writing on the Wall and National Museums Liverpool to host the Liverpool launch of The Singh Twins' latest book, 'Slaves of Fashion: Art of the Singh Twins – Personal Reflections on Hidden Stories of Empire, Colonialism, and Their Legacies' (Manchester University Press, 2025).

This richly illustrated, artist-designed book showcases Slaves of Fashion, an award-winning series of portrait-based allegorical and narrative works by contemporary British artists The Singh Twins. Slaves of Fashion explores diverse histories and legacies of empire and colonialism through the history of Indian textiles. It is a global story of conflict, conquest, exploitation, slavery, intercultural exchange, and changing fashion. The series connects these themes to the trade in luxury goods during an age of maritime exploration, colonisation, and industrialisation—all driven by the commercial interests of competing and expanding European imperial powers, from the fifteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. The book includes detailed interpretations of the artworks, representing The Singh Twins’ personal reflections on this story and its relevance to topical debates around racism, cultural ownership, decolonisation, ethical trade, and consumerism. It also offers insight into the making of the artworks, which draw on academic research, historical archives, and museum collections.

The Singh Twins will be in conversation Bryan Biggs, Director of Cultural Legacies at the Bluecoat. The discussion will be illustrated with images from the ‘Slaves of Fashion’ series and followed by a signing of the Slaves of Fashion publication.

The Singh Twins are internationally recognised contemporary British artists, known for their highly detailed narrative, symbolic, and eclectic style, combining hand-painted and digital techniques. Through their work, which they describe as Past-Modern, they comment on modern-day society, politics, and culture, challenge Eurocentrism in the art world, and demonstrate the contemporary relevance of history and tradition. They have each received many awards, including being made Honorary Citizens of Liverpool in 2009. 

Bryan Biggs is Director of Cultural Legacies at the Bluecoat, the UK’s oldest arts centre, where he has worked on exhibitions, live programmes, international exchanges, publications, residencies and a major capital development. He first curated an exhibition by The Singh Twins in 1994. He has participated in many discursive events around visual and popular culture, convening the conference, Perspectives on a decentred decade (2022) for the British Art Network. He has an Honorary Doctorate from University of Liverpool and is an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University, where (as Liverpool Polytechnic) he studied fine art. He continues his art practice, and since 2013 has made a drawing every day.