Portland Dress 'holds space for everyone'

A composition image of four different modelling the Portland Dress. The dress itself is a white calico floor length dress with a v neck tank top style and blue ribbon laced on the back like a corset. It is covered in different colours emboirdery patches. From left to right, Hazel Smith has grey hair styled in a short bob, she is smiling at the camera and has one arm relaxed by her side while the other hand rests on her hip. Annerose Walker is smiling at the camera with her hands lifted up to the side of her face. She has shoulder length dark brown hair which is windswept away from her face. Sarah Partridge stands confidently with her arms by her sides and looks at the camera. She has long blonde curly hair. Poppy Hardwicke has her back to the camera, looking back over her shoulder and smiling. She has her hands on her hips and long dark brown hair.Pete Millson/B-Side

From left to right: Hazel Smith, Annerose Weiler, Sarah Partridge and Poppy Hardwicke model the Portland dress

Emily Ford
BBC News, South of England

Hundreds of people have come together to weave the stories of Portland locals together.

The Portland Dress is set to be unveiled after six months in the making and more than 300 people contributing to its creation.

Arts organisation B-Side was inspired to create the dress after the Red Dress Project visited Portland in 2024 and donated a "sister" dress made of calico to the group.

Since then, locals have come together at workshops, in their own homes, community groups, cafes and pubs to embroider patches for the dress.

Each patch has been inspired by a story connected to Portland and the dress will be revealed at the isle's Big Weekend event, running from 11 to 14 September.

A close up image of a women's hands while she is sewing. The edge of her pink long sleeved top can be seen. She is working on an embroidery which shows a cut out of a fish and a cut out of a blue anchor on blue sparkle fabric. There is a blue tulle fabric bow nearby as she is at a sewing workstation.Pete Millson/B-Side

Memories, tributes and moments of history have been embroidered for the dress

Items woven into the dress include a piece by a mother and daughter, who embroidered an image of their other daughter and sister, sitting by Portland Bill.

She had Down's syndrome and died, but the family explained Portland was her favourite place to visit.

Other depictions include an embroidery of a dandelion by a woman who wanted to reflect resilience after moving to Portland from her home country.

A group of refugees who lived on the Bibby Stockholm barge also contributed an embroidery of a circle of hands to represent the connections they had made during their time in Portland.

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  1. Hazel Smith has grey hair styled in a short bob, she is smiling at the camera and is pointing at herself with both hands. She wears the Portland Dress, which is a white calico dress - a shoulderless v neck top with a full, floorlength skirt, covered in different coloured embroidered patches. She is standing in a corridor, with black wooden stair railings behind her.
    Pete Millson/B-Side

    The Portland Dress, modelled here by Hazel Smith, was inspired by The Red Dress Project which has travelled around the world

Local artists Antje Rook and Sarah Whiteside led the embroidery workshops between January and July.

Ms Rook explained: "Over the past months, people from all walks of life have come together. What's been most moving is how embroidery – something so simple and tactile – has given people the space to reflect, share and connect.

"Whether born here or newly arrived, everyone who has contributed has found common ground through the dress and a shared sense of belonging to Portland."

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  1. Three women are sat around a table, sewing. There are various sewing materials on the table, pieces of blue fabric, papers, spools of thread. The woman to the left has light brown hair tied back in a ponytail and has a fringe. She is wearing glass, a pink turtleneck long sleeved top with a blue woollen jumper over the top, she is looking down at her work. In the centre, a woman with dark blonde mid-length hair looks down at her work. She is wearing a khaki green hoodie. The woman to the right has white short hair and round framed glasses on. She is wearing a light blue zip up fleece jumper.
    Pete Millson/B-Side

    Workshops for people to gather and sew have been running for the past six months

Words from the poem Skylark, by Portland-based artist Rob Mutter, have also been woven into the hemline of the dress.

Rocca Holly-Nambi, director of B-Side, said the Portland Dress showed "how art can hold space for everyone".

She added: "It's about memory, resilience, migration and community - told not through formal history books but through stitches, symbols and personal stories."

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