An international fashion research project exploring the 'craft of use'

Ethics of Use

Brands control upstream supply chains assiduously; but downstream, after a garment is sold, the user is in charge. A user’s actions can uphold a brand’s values, be incurious about them or subvert them in a range of direct or subtle ways. Defiance comes in many forms: the protestations of a blog, the cutting and reworking of scissors and thread, or the attitude with which a garment is worn, upending the worldview of the corporation that made it.

Intimidation free

"This is an Armani suit, ok? I have to say that because, the point is, I could never afford to buy Armani new and I’m not sure I’d want to… I once went into an Armani shop and it made me feel absolutely crap… it just made me feel completely inadequate and, you know, everybody was just so chic and the clothes were all so chic and so even if I could have afforded to I probably would have been too intimidated to tried the clothes on, you know. So, this suit came from a second-hand clothes shop about ten years ago and I have worn it a lot."

London - March 2011
Photograph by Kerry Dean