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

My Community

In smaller communities people can more easily see the effects of their own actions on each other and the environment. They can also better understand the ramifications of their choices; allowing them to take responsbility for them. Expressing community through our garment choices sews the seeds of a new type of self-reliance in fashion based on connection to people and place.

Religious art

"I’m wearing this top that I bought so many years ago and it’s faded a lot. But I’m still in love with this because it’s cotton and it’s one of the Indian distinctive art materials. It’s called Kalam Kari. And it has religious identity in India but now they are producing wearables. So they use mostly plant dyes mostly to produce it… a very unique and distinct and painstaking craft technique… seventeen steps to do the artwork, not mass-produced. I feel very connected to the people that make this. They don’t expect money for their work… it’s their passion and they respect their culture..."

San Francisco - July 2012
Photograph by Paige Green