“I AM WHAT I WEAR”: WHY IT IS SO
- CATEGORY
- Indoor Activities
Preparation
- old or new clothes,
- cloth colors or printed images,
- coloring pens,
- dried flowers,
- cloth patches
It is important to bring different materials and colors, of course you don’t have to invest much; it can all be second-hand or patches that you are not using anymore. This can be indoor or outdoor activities and maybe you would need to have space. What is crucial in this activity is that you let participants express themselves and to send a message through clothes as something that they find important for others to see or be aware of.
Description of activity
Clothes is one of the most striking and at the same time affordable ways of self-expression, and a wardrobe cannot be reduced to a collection of outfits—it is an entire arsenal of opportunities, using which one can show their authentic or imaginary personality, and attract like minded companions. During the workshop, the group will discuss strategies of clothing selection popular in modern day youth fashion; to what extent the creation of one’s own image can be seen as a rational gesture; and how choosing outfits in a broader meaning, be it a dress, accessory or make-up—impacts people’s behavior and interaction with others. During the practical block, the participants will introduce the rest of the group with their look book collages and check whether their message is clear and easily understood.
This workshop can focus on social, political, educational, cultural and many more phenomenons of our society. How do we read stereotypes inherent in the society’s perception thereof? How they are presented, what they think about, what message they want to convey, what they want to raise awareness about. These clothes serve as a medium to talk about many problems, young people will not only be designers but also promoters of a creative group that will understand them, identify with themselves and wear the same clothes.
You don’t need a lot of materials for this workshop, they can be old pieces of clothing, materials that you will use again with a certain message, which you can draw, cut from other materials, printed, decorated with jewelry. It would be your statement piece, something that is important to you, a visual message that you communicate, eyes-opener not only to your peers but also to all people in your local community and beyond.