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

Garment Co-operation

Some garments require a wearer's involvement for them to work well on the body. Others act together differently: using physical form and structure to co-operate with life. They aid and abet and mould our world.

Traditional design

This is a jacket from a hill tribe in China. These incredible cast beads… don’t fasten but they act as a fastening because they weight the garment absolutely perfectly so that it hangs straight down the middle. This garment would never need to be washed because it’s loose under the arms. It follows traditional sort of garment based on squares… laid out like butterflies.

London - January 2010
Photograph by Sean Michael