From anti-EDL protest to the catwalk: the rise of Saffiyah Khan

In April, a photo of Saffiyah Khan confronting a member of the EDL in Birmingham went viral. Now the activist and artist has turned her attention to the fashion industry in a bid to make a change

You’ll remember the image from April. Saffiyah Khan – 20, tall, mixed race, with nose-ring and a cropped fringe – smiling with a mix of condescension and disbelief at the tight, pink face of Ian Crossland, group leader for the EDL, at a hate rally in Birmingham’s Centenary Square.

That no one spotted the same face on a catwalk at London fashion week this month is understandable. Khan wore a judge’s wig and some strangely ageing Kabuki-style makeup. Plus, Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu’s spring 2017 show was the activist’s runway debut. But that looks set to change for Birmingham’s striking “symbol of resistance”, who has recently signed to Elite model agency in the hope that she might bring some of her determined activism to the fashion industry.

Initially, Khan became a darling of the socialist left. Her phone didn’t stop ringing. She appeared on stage at Labour party events, did interviews and videos and, much to her delight, was offered free tickets to a Specials gig after it was noted she had been wearing a merch t-shirt. Then came the fashion industry. Invited to be part of the Elite’s new Collective division – which represents talent rather than professional models – Khan has since appeared in Balenciaga in Dazed and Confused, and been shot in Bethany Williams, a designer and lecturer in social responsibility, for the Fall magazine, where she was credited as a model. But this was her first time in a show.

“I had other agencies contact me but I knew this was best suited to me and what I wish to do,” she says. “Diversity is massively improving within the fashion world – not just with models, but also editors, designers etc. There seems to be a real movement right now in terms of what fashion [wants to] represent, [with] more designers using [it as a] platform to promote a message of equality.” In recent months, she has also started designing her own T-shirts, which has piqued an interest in ethical clothing. “I see them [art and fashion] as two artistic processes which naturally overlap,” she says.

Findikoglu’s show was an energetic mix of hardcore punk and layered tailoring with elements of the occult woven throughout. Khan, by then a fan, was approached by the designer’s casting agent in the summer; Findikoglu had designed a dress, a pink folded column dress that trails on the ground, with Khan in mind. Khan was to be credited as “Justice” in the show notes, “on the back of her work as an activist”.

The majority of Findikoglu’s press has focused on her setting a show that leaned towards occultish themes within a church. “The show [did] not deserve the negative response some people have given it,” says Khan. “Dilara was never wishing to offend or distress people... [she is] a very talented designer with an incredible eye for detail.” St Andrew’s church say they hired out the venue in good faith, but have since apologised for doing so.

Fittingly, Khan’s presence has once again – this time inadvertently – antagonised the far-right. Alex Jones, host of radio and YouTube show InfoWars, posted a video that denounced the designer’s show as being fit for a “satanist orgy” and part of a conspiracy of satanists that Jones claimed are “weak scum trying to play God and trying to run our lives”.

When events unfolded last spring, the 20-year-old activist admitted to being “slightly surprised” that the picture went viral. She had only wandered in to stick up for Saira Zafar, then a stranger, who had been surrounded by a group of far-right protesters shouting abuse. To the outside world (and indeed numerous think pieces), it was also notable for taking place a week after Kendall Jenner’s ill-advised “protest chic” Pepsi advert, which caused a spectacular PR crisis for both model and drinks company. Jenner eventually bounced back, while Khan’s career was just beginning. Incidentally, Jenner is also represented in some capacity by Elite.

Since April, Khan has spoken about solidarity and activism at talks in London, and worked with Labour, doing meet-and-greets backstage at the party’s conference in Brighton, and taking over Jeremy Corbyn’s Instagram. (She says they get on, but “I don’t [want] to pester him ... He is a very busy man!”) She describes herself as a “passionate activist, creative and photographer” with a focus on “saving public areas such as libraries, schools and health services”. She has also dyed her hair a light rose gold. “I get spotted every now and then, which I always see as a positive,” she says, unfazed. “It just motivates me to do more for my community.”

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