About
Sarah Ismail is a fashion practitioner who explores culture, identity and material storytelling through her work.
Working at the intersection of design and technology, she is interested in how systems shape the way narratives are formed and understood.
Her practice engages digital tools as a space for exploration and innovation as she develops new ways to translate ideas into contemporary visual forms while fostering ongoing community exchange and collaboration.
WARIS
WARIS is a digital archival platform focused on elevating the status of Nusantara textiles and garments.
It addresses the lack of structured systems for preserving the cultural, material and historical value embedded within these pieces, which are often passed down informally without consistent records. The project reframes garments not simply as items of dress, but as carriers of memory and knowledge.
Instead of functioning as a static archive, WARIS proposes a model of active preservation. By bringing together documentation, verification and access within a shared infrastructure, it supports the continued circulation of garments while ensuring their context is retained and carried forward.
The WARIS app serves as the central interface through which garments are documented and accessed.
Each piece is assigned a structured digital record containing metadata, provenance and high-resolution imagery, alongside a digital passport secured on blockchain to ensure traceability and integrity. Verified garments undergo a physical authentication process, establishing credibility within the system.
Designed to bridge the physical and digital, the app features archive browsing, filtering and a community layer for contributions and discussion. Garments are paired with NFC tags that link directly to their digital records, enabling instant access through a scan.
Jeong Sehyeok
Yang Chaiwon
Celestina Ann Gimino
Kashish Malani
Jiao Hongying
Camylia Ahmad
