Woven Roots: The Resistance of Heritage Through Clothing and Textiles

A self-produced documentary.

An idea by Maria Antonela Bresug, Ruqayya Hmaidan, and Federico Pinna

Interwoven roots.

Three young researchers and three cultures weaving their roots together to grow into a single tree.

Between Sardinia, Romania, and the Palestinian diaspora.

The Mission

WOVEN ROOTS is a journey that explores the deep connection between individuals and their roots, revealing how traditional clothing is far more than simple garments: it is a living bond with community and history. The recovery of textile traditions becomes an act of cultural resistance and a way to preserve collective memory.

The project unfolds within a global context increasingly shaped by fast fashion — a phenomenon that not only devastates the environment and human lives, but also acts as a driver of consumerism, stripping clothing of any intrinsic value.

WOVEN ROOTS proposes a sustainable alternative, where rediscovering traditional weaving and garment-making techniques becomes a way to promote a slower, more conscious, and environmentally respectful approach to fashion, rooted in local resources.

At its core lies the desire to preserve and study ancestral knowledge — a form of wisdom that not only tells the stories of communities, but also offers concrete tools to build a more just and sustainable present. Every traditional garment, every gesture that brings these practices back to life, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of dignity.

The Journey

Today, identity increasingly passes through what we wear: clothing speaks for us, communicates values, belonging, and origins. It can be a form of art or a tool of exploitation, cultural memory or the product of a system spiraling out of control. From this paradox, our journey begins in Milan and Turin, symbolic centers of luxury, consumption, and fashion archiving.

Through interviews with the public, we investigate what is recognized as cultural heritage, and then engage with experts and collectors to explore why, in many so-called “modern” societies, clothing has lost its cultural and communal role.

From these cities, we move toward territories where dress still functions as a collective expression of heritage and identity. We explore cultures in which textiles represent survival, self-determination, and resistance — and how traditional techniques can help us redefine value, quality, and responsibility within the fashion system.

The journey continues in Romania, where clothing weaves together spirituality and tradition; in Sardinia, a land that has resisted centuries of homogenization; and within the Palestinian diaspora, where tatreez is preserved as an act of memory and resistance.

The path concludes with a reflection on the transmission of knowledge: without education and awareness, we risk forgetting that recycling, reuse, and upcycling have always been part of textile traditions. In a system that produces garments at unsustainable speeds, we seek to restore clothing to its original value: heritage, relationship, and resistance.

This research aims to weave together multiple realities and move beyond borders.

Here are those who, so far, have chosen to support us.

Would you like to join the research?

Get in touch with us.

Follow us Woven Roots