A unique collection of ties and stories forms a living community archive – a tapestry of memories, resilience, and shared experiences of loss.
Roses of Ties
The project reimagines men’s ties – symbols of hierarchy, power, and uniformity – as delicate roses, embodying memory, transformation, and care. The collective recycling of ties for transformation visualizes the strength of unity in a world marked by pain, grief, and uncertainty – from the pandemic to war and migration. In times like these, we need symbols to hold onto, and collective art that ensures every voice is heard and every story preserved.
Through the collective recycling and transformation of ties, the Museum of Ties serves as a toolkit designed to become a living archive – a growing record of human connection, grief, and hope. It is not a museum in the traditional sense, but a public act of remembrance that unfolds wherever people gather. Each donated tie carries a personal story or a silent wish for peace and collective healing.
When you throw away a tie, you’re also discarding a part of your story and history. Secondhand shops sell them for just 5 SEK, making them seem insignificant. But by donating your ties to our project, you give them new life and meaning. We learn from you, get inspired by your story, and preserve your history through our workshops.
Ties carry memory and connection, linking generations like branches of a family tree. Each knot and fold tells a story of family, heritage, and daily life. Hanging together, they form a network of continuity – a living archive that honors the past, reflects the present, and inspires what we carry forward.
The Future Museum reimagines museums, placing the community at the center. Objects are no longer merely collected – they are shared, forming a living archive of collective memories. Past, present, and community converge in remembrance, as clothes enter a dialogue with future generations.
Contemporary fashion often favors black and gray, and new collections frequently echo the old. Overconsumption alongside claims of sustainability makes us realize that perhaps we do not need more clothes in our wardrobes, but symbols, colors, and shared stories that give style deeper meaning. From this urge for symbol, we created Roses of Ties – a symbol of love and care, giving form to pain and loss. These roses bring color and keep memory alive.
The Museum of Ties invites us to step back from the rush of digitalization and platformization, and to meet one another through memories and emotions woven into an omnipresent yet unassuming accessory: the necktie. Each tie we collect or repurpose sparks a brief, intimate dialogue between generations – bridging loss and care through the forms of fashion and the pages of memory. Unfolding not through screens but through real stories, not by scrolling but through folding and tactile experience, Roses of Ties asks: can this become a space for the renaissance of genuine communication?
Place an empty frame in your office, a shopping mall, or another public space, and watch how it evolves. As more ties and stories are added, the frame turns into a meaningful piece of collective art and a living archive of care, remembrance, and our shared longing for peace and safety for future generations.
The lecture introduces the evolving social craft project of artist Ludmila Christeseva, where women transform men’s ties – symbols of hierarchy and power – into roses that represent care, resilience, and healing. Launched in spring 2025 on the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the act of creating rose brooches has gained deep social resonance, with over 2,000 ties donated. Through community stories, the project revisits Swedish cultural heritage and the legacy of female entrepreneurship across generations, including Amanda Christensen, whose handmade ties helped shape notions of masculinity. By fall 2025, Roses of Ties has become a poetic tool in the global movement to end gender-based violence.
From Swedish traditions of male elegance to global conversations on gender-based violence.
Every tie holds a memory, fragile yet enduring, a story that deserves to live on. Let us fold your tie into a rose – a delicate but powerful emblem of hope, care, and resilience in a world that often feels turbulent. Worn close to the heart, it carries our shared humanity, radiates warmth, and whispers a quiet love for the world we hold together.
In this 1.5-hour Roses of Ties workshop, employees step away from screens to connect through storytelling, listening, and creativity. Using old ties as unusual materials, participants unfold personal memories and experiences, transforming them into handmade brooches. This hands-on process becomes a tool for understanding, empathy, and dialogue—bridging personal stories with shared humanity.
Artillerigatan 10, 114 51 Stockholm
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The Museum of Ties began as a simple act of community engagement – a creative space where people came together to share stories, memories, and traditions through something as humble and personal as a tie. Over time, it evolved into a powerful platform for dialogue, empathy, and peacebuilding. Each tie…