Clothing that isn't meant to be worn - Topic of the day 11/13/23
Many people interact with clothing by thinking "How would I wear this?" but tons of clothes and accessories never get the chance to be worn for a number of different reasons. Whether it's by design, because of economic/supply chain issues, or for historic preservation, can we learn to appreciate these pieces for reasons other than their usefulness as garments? What are some examples of clothing that isn't worn and what do you like about those pieces?
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My first thought are those 3d digital clothes that was popping off for a quick second but just disappeared once everyone realized how dumb it was. Personally I think there is some usefulness in it, where it reminds me of runway pieces that isn't really to wear but to convey and show ideas. While a more distilled version is worn by the public. I just thought the 3d digital clothing stuff was dumb because of how expensive they made it and felt it like it was marketed for exclusivity rather than the aesthetics of it.
Overall though I still view a lot of those unwearable pieces as art and like most art it look good i like it.
This conversation always seems to lead to things that aren't made of textile and aren't really able to be worn but take the form of clothing to play off of our concept of what clothes are and the purpose they serve. Deepti Barth's Crash Glass Vest is a cool example, it's really a sculpture but anchors an entire collection around the ideas of protection and fragility.
It's a very striking piece and is able to more directly convey the ideas explored in her collection relative to the actual fabric clothes. It's made of safety glass that isn't meant to be cut so it's also pretty impressive from a technical standpoint that they were able to mold it into a vest. The "crash" motif continues throughout the collection in the broken seams of everything from tailoring to leather and denim.
The crushed glass is also applied to the tailoring in this collection, which results in some of the most beautiful and unique pieces I've ever seen. I've gone on a bit long about this but overall it's a cool case study in how small designers with a focus on artistry can use non-clothing objects to push what we think is possible with clothing.
My favorite: A Lasting Impression by Sruli Recht
https://www.srulirecht.com/product-archive/a-lasting-impression-is-sr341
Sruli Recht
A Lasting Impression is SR341 — Sruli Recht
Sharkskin Glove - Thorns In
Fitted and unlined glove from basking shark skin, with the mic-rose thorns inside. Should you put your hand in, you will discover that the thorns, all directed to slant inward, will lock your hand in place in the manner of, ten thousand fishhooks. Should you attempt to
so so cool thanks for sharing
In a similar vein, I went to a local art museum and they had a (small) exhibit by Fabiola Jean-Louis, who makes clothes out of paper as part of her work.
http://www.fabiolajeanlouis.com/sculptures
fabiola jean-louis
Rewriting History Sculptures — fabiola jean-louis
In the same vein as sneakerheads, some pieces I would buy because they're gorgeous but too delicate or impractical to wear
Outside of pure art I feel like Haute Couture/Runway pieces in general fall somewhat into this category. Many are intentionally impractical to wear outside of the runaway (or are inaccessible due to cost), and some are produced as one offs. They can still be very important both in conveying a designer's intent, as well as staying as art pieces representative of that designers collection (and place in the overall career)
I think ambiguity at the boundary between “wearable” and “unwearable” is core to fashion and is played out in all sorts of contexts. Is a garment “practical”, is it wearable only by a tiny minority of body sizes and shapes, is it possible to sit or move or breathe in while wearing? I think a lot of looks sent down runways are often occupying a kind of unreality in this sense, and rather than being purely exclusionary it could also be seen as gestures of theatricality and artistic vision.
Some years ago I started a minor ig fashion meme collected under the hashtag #heelconcept. The prompt was to photograph a collection of objects that approximated a high heel shape upon which you’d pose your foot as if wearing the shoe. The unwearability here was an invitation to declare found material conceptually as fair game for style purposes, which itself was an exploitation of the possibilities opened up when personal style is articulated purely as a photo shared on social media.
cool project. love the scrubbing brush heel here, i think it's the best example bc it feels discovered rather than made if that makes sense?
also I feel like wedding dresses sort of fall into this category. insane to think about the kind of obsession, design, craft, alterations, dieting, etc that people put into wedding dresses with intention of only wearing them for one day. photography definitely feeds into that too; you don't re-wear the dress, you look at your (often highly edited) wedding photos.
I could easily wear this.
was this inspired by the upcoming Met theme?
same but for the glass vest
my nipples hard af
some call it "wearing the glass vest." some call it "getting into fatal car crashes for sexual pleasure." i just call it a typical tuesday night.
Margiela glass slippers seem more your speed thomas
or the bond hardware nail stiletto
I can't do the glass slippers, they bring back too many traumatic memories from this one crazy night I had involving a pumpkin, mice, a dashing prince...I blacked out when the clock struck midnight so it only comes back to me in fragments. Even seeing photos of glass slippers still gives me the chills—that was the night I knew I had to get sober.