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

Never Washed

Laundering is high impact and yet not laundering is socially unacceptable. But some pieces defy social pressure and are never washed, often motivated by the fear that laundering causes something precious to be lost: a scent, a memory, the particular way a garment fits, the quality of handwork, and even a political stance.

Honour the handiwork

"This is my sequined cardigan that has never been washed… I’d be scared to ruin it. Like, it’s all hand-beaded, I just think the amount I wear it and the amount of time it spends sort of hung up, it doesn’t really warrant washing it, you know, I wear it and then it gets to air for, like, six months before I wear it again."

London - January 201
Photograph by Sean Michael