Participant one
Breathing new life in dormant garments through building creative skills and capacities
We the hackers would like to build on your own creative skills and capacities (patchwork blanket, see picture) and your numerous ideas by imparting some of our technical knowledge about garment construction/sewing. We feel this would enable you to transform some of the items in your wardrobe.
You currently have lots of items that are not being worn which you could repair or transform. We thought your idea of turning your black Japanese pants (see picture) that are currently not being worn into a dress was great and would be quite easy to achieve. Or utilising the charity shop find (Blue dress, see picture) in a way that works for you.
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Participant two
Sharing your ‘craft of use’ (Fletcher, K (2009)) with the world.
We the hackers would like to try working with you more on communicating your system/approach to fashion in a ‘how to’ guide or a system that imparts your wisdom to all in a very accessible way. It could show the stages of your dressing and your self-imposed discipline.
It's your combination of discipline and spontaneity that is really interesting, it is something so many people could learn from and be empowered by.
You have a unique knack of spotting the potential in quite simple pieces- rectangle pieces of fabric sewn together to become a cummerbund (see photo) or the flexibility and versatility of wrap dresses (see pictures).
You have already applied your skills to several items but we would like to see how you expand this approach and perhaps offer this ‘service’ to others in the ‘hack’ project.
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Participant three
We, the hackers would like to work with you on further developing the mode and method of communicating your approach to clothing and your wardrobe.
We feel it is your deep understanding and connection with dress as an expression for your values, philosophies, and understanding of your own physical and inner world that has truly transcended the narrow commercial views about fashion (Fletcher, K (2009).
We want to share this with the world and want to work with you on developing a method that communicates it in the most effective manner- this could be a combination of spoken word, film, diagrams etc.?
We would like to offer you the opportunity to speak to the other participants in the forum about your ideas. We could all learn so much from you and your simple yet intellectual approach to dress.
Related links
Ethics of Use - Local Wisdom
Alternative Dress Codes - Local Wisdom
Participant four
Releasing and empowering one’s existing creative capacity and unique point of view
We the Hackers would like to build on your own creative skills and capacities by imparting some of our knowledge about garment construction/sewing to enable you to mend some of the items in your wardrobe i.e. the jumper with the rip (see photo right) or your zebra pants (see photo)?
We think you have a creative, imaginative, unique and yet practical approach to clothing with very specific needs (i.e. durability- hiking). We would like to encourage this further to see where it leads. We particularly like your idea about inserting a flap into your bear onesie (animal costume), which would make it more convenient to wear. We hope this would in turn lead to you wearing it more often, reinforcing the independent task set in stage 4.
We hope by empowering you further you will release that creativity!
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Participant five
Providing an open, non-judgmental forum to talk about clothing practices
We the Hackers want to invite you to the workshop to meet the other participants in the Hack. We want you to have an opportunity to talk about your clothes; a subject you were surprisingly quite passionate about (based on stage 1). We were with you and your wardrobe the longest of all the Hack visits! We think this forum would be a great platform to expose you to different approaches that work positively for people who’s wardrobes are not necessarily dictated by conventional fashion.
You have demonstrated how creative you are (the hand knits you wore in stage 1, see picture) and we think you can build on these skills and gain confidence in how this can be a way of expressing yourself. We can show you ways of adjusting pieces in your wardrobe (with the ideas you already have) to make garments more flattering to your shape. You have a vibrant amazing wardrobe that needs to be put to use!
We would also like to offer you a styling workshop using the items from your wardrobe helping you to form outfits. This would aim to alleviate some of the anxiety you have from time to time about what and how to wear items. We could supply an itemized list of what to wear and how to wear it. You can even contact us daily/weekly for advice.