Created By Women Of Iran

Designing Empowerment: The Story Behind the Seats

At the heart of Crafted Liberation is the transformative power of design to drive social change. Initiated by Iranian-Australian designer Nila Rezaei, the project draws inspiration from the Women, Life, Freedom movement, which captured global attention following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. It transforms the power of social resistance into innovative, functional objects, with 491 Iranian women anonymously donating their unwanted headscarves to support the cause. The project continues to grow as more headscarves arrive from around the world. Nila explains, “In Iran, women have been banned from entering stadiums since 1981. The stadium seat represents more than just functionality—it’s a symbol of exclusion. By using these discarded headscarves to create seats, we reclaim and redefine the narratives of suppression into stories of empowerment.”

Material Innovation: Reclaiming Waste to Statement of Empowerment

The project's creativity lies in its approach to storytelling through a tangible and functional product enabled by circular material innovation. The seats are made from unique composite material developed in collaboration with an Australian manufacturer specialising in materials and processes involving fiber and composite technologies. Using a combination of lamination and pressure molding, the result material is a durable and lightweight composite made from 100% waste resources such as unwanted and donated head scarfs and waste plastic bags.

This blend not only honours the composite materials traditionally used in stadium seats but also reflects the strength, courage and stories of the women behind each scarf. Every seat we create holds a story. A story of women reclaiming spaces, standing together, and inspiring change.

Reclaiming Spaces Through Collective Action

For decades, Iranian women have been banned from entering stadiums—a stark representation of their systemic exclusion. Crafted Liberation confronts this reality by turning stadium seats into a canvas for resistance and unity. The project not only transforms textiles but also transforms how we perceive spaces of exclusion, fostering new opportunities for dialogue, acceptance, and belonging.

A Call to the Design Community

Crafted Liberation invites designers, artists, and thinkers to reflect on how material innovation can drive social impact. It demonstrates the potential of design to tell compelling stories, mobilise collective action, and turn discarded materials into symbols of hope and resilience.

This project asks the design community to think beyond aesthetics and functionality—towards creating work that bridges cultural narratives, sustainability, and social empowerment.

Presented by RK Collective

RK Collective is an award-winning, female-led product design and innovation collective whose mission is to empower positive change by addressing the most pressing challenges facing our people and our planet. Driven by a shared passion for design and social impact, Nila Rezaei and Christopher Krainer founded RK Collective in 2023, in Sydney, Australia. Together, they've worked across a variety of industries, including consumer goods, medical devices, public art, mobility, solar technology and material innovation.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.