CATWALK ZUR SOZIAL-ÖKONOMISCHEN UTOPIE

CATWALK TO A SOCIAL ECONOMIC UTOPIA

CATWALK TO A SOCIAL ECONOMIC UTOPIA

Laia, Pauli und Nazanin Shamloo©Anja_Grabert | 12.9.2021

IT DOES NOT MATTER IF A DRESS IS USED OR IF IT IS A NEW DRESS FROM SOME TRENDY BRAND, WHAT MATTERS IS THE SOUL THAT WEARS IT.

Lorenzo

 

Walk with us!

Wir machten die Flugbahn zum Catwalk und demonstrierten Mode vom Asphalt an hybriden Wäscheständern auf der Aufmarschfläche R11 des Tempelhofer Feldes!

Es demonstrierten für Fashion-Standards einer gerechteren Zukunft und als Beitrag zur Debatte um Körperbild und Ästhetik:

Alice Fassina | Aliyah Iffli | Annelie | Boris Steinberg | Céline Iffli-Naumann | Deborah Klassen | Freeda | Flora Carmim | Geneviève | Kdindie | Laia  |LaMoel | Laura-Marie Gruch  | Manuela Coelho | Marlene Sommer | NavaNaimaPan | Nazanin Shamloo  | Nomadin der Lüfte |Pauli | Philairone | Purvi Dhrangaderiya | Sara Tivane | Sarah Nevada Grether | Sophie Stolle | Zohara |

Training: Leo Naomi Baur | José Caba | barbara caveng
Styling : STREETWARE saved item featuring Mo Lateef

Make Up & Haare:   Narong Boonme | Nazanin Emami | Olga Ionica Zavisic  | Reena Kumari | Sandrine Louise  |

Fotos Anja Grabert & Paolo Gallo

Im Kontext der Berlin Fashion Week forderte Berlins politischstes Mode-Label die Fast Fashion heraus, transformierte weggeworfene Textilien in prêt-à-porter und inszenierte soziale Plastik. Um mit Saved Items zur Bildung nachhaltiger Standards, fairer Produktionsketten und dekolonialisierter Lebensstilmuster beizutragen, veranstaltete STREETWARE den demonstrativen Catwalk der sozial-ökonomischen Utopie. Die präsentierten Fashion-Highlights stammten unmittelbar vom Asphalt der Straßen Berlins und dienten als provokanter Ausgangspunkt, um über Nachhaltigkeit, Produktionsweisen und soziale Praktik ins Gespräch zu kommen.

ICH LEGE AB

ich lege ab
die alten werte
ich streife ab
was mich schmückte
ich denke neu
denn dass, was mich entzückte
passt nicht mehr
liegt nicht mehr
angenehm
auf meiner haut

ich entdecke
mit geschlossenen augen
den wandel
den neubeginn
alles ist vorhanden
alles ist da
liegt auf den straßen
vor unseren füßen
es ist längst
nichts mehr so
wie es mal war

alles was uns getragen
alles was wir einst trugen
muss sich neu finden
sich neu ergründen
sehen und spüren
fühlen und hören
ein neues wissen
und….nichts mehr vermissen

die neuen kleider
werden die alten
nicht ersetzen
sie werden uns vielmehr
verletzen
wenn es so weitergeht
schutzlos und nackt
wie wir sind
im neubeginn
werden die alten kleider
mir zeigen
wer ich nun sein kann
ja, wer ich wirklich bin

/ borissteinberg @2021

Neben Nachhaltigkeit, Produktionsweisen und sozialer Praktik wurde das Diktat der  Schönheitsideale frei interpretiert und   Ästhetiken zur Debatte gestellt. Die Kollektion von STRRETWARE wurde auf dem Tempelhofer Feld präsentiert von Models, die durch ihre einzigartige Ausstrahlung  Normbegriffe sprengten und demonstrierten, was Schönheit wirklich bedeutet

Marlene Sommer hat sich den BMI vorgenommen:

Overweight – over WHAT weight?

Overnight, half the American population became “overweight”, just bc someone changed the BMI borders … wtf?

 In today’s society, the so-called “body-mass-index” is like a status symbol, sth that defines your class, the amount of appreciation you receive. We don’t compare the price of our house or car, the job of our partner… we compare ourselves. 

When everything else feels out of control, there’s sth we can do – that’s what we think. But we can’t fight our biology. Even if we all ate and moved the same, we’d still all look different. The BMI was introduced in the 1830s by a mathematician, not a biologist so there ain’t much science behind it.

There’s a beauty standard, so many ppl try to archive by going against their biological needs. Is that really what we want: The same boring looks, so that no one can differentiate us? What once made us humane and separated us from robots is what we all strive for. Others claim, they just wanted to be “normal”; fit in. Right… who defines that? That’s society. And who is society? Us – you and me🙌🏻. Why are we creating a norm, only certain ppl can “archive”? You can’t fight your biology.

Why not establish our true authentic self as the new normal? Flaws and stretch marks, rolls, and muscles. Let’s celebrate what our bodies DO for us instead of hating “all your curves and edges, all [our] perfect imperfections” as John Legend says in his song “All of me”.

Why don’t we appreciate the fact that we all look different? Ain’t it amazing that we’re one species but still all so unique

Be yourself, everyone else already exists.

The BMI was once supposed to be a guideline, sth to express ppl’s health easily. We’re smarter today: Health ain’t only about your weight, it’s physical sanity, mental health and so much more. Health ain’t a visual diagnosis. A normal weight is the one your body feels most comfortable at; your setpoint is individual, not a matter of BMI numbers!

Our body is our home🏡; our motor. We cannot cut the energy and expect electricity to still run. You can’t live a full life on an empty stomach. We need to start seeing our body as an instrument, not an ornament… it enables us to walk, laugh, write, talk, visit places. Don’t miss out on 95% of life only to weight 5% less

Do you wanna walk with us too?

ein poetische Fragestellung und eine Hommage an die abgestreiften Textilien von NavaNaimaPan

Ich komme Nachhause. Öffne die Tür zu einem Zimmer, das seines war, heute meines ist.  In der Mitte steht ein Bett, ungemacht, so als hätte er letzte Nacht noch darin geträumt. Behutsam setzte ich mich auf die Bettkante. Es gehört mir noch nicht, Höflichkeit ist angebracht. Ich entdecke eine alte Holztruhe, öffne sie ohne Erwartung etwas darin zu finden, vielmehr mit dem Gedanken, ob und was ich hineinlegen könnte. Einrichten.

 

Der Geruch von ausgetragenen Turnschuhen und modrigen Klamotten steigt aus der Holzkiste, entblösst eine Jeansjacke. Ich ziehe sie hinaus, schüttele sie aus, als ob der Geruch so vom Stoff abfallen könnte, ziehe sie mir über. Sie ist zu gross.

Ich frage mich, wie die selbe Jacke über seine Schultern fällt.

Ich widme mich meinem Rucksack, packe die Kleider aus. Die gestreifte Hose mit Schlag. Heute gehört sie ihr und mir, wir teilen sie uns. Wem wohl davor?

Der Schal, der auf der Brücke im Wind hing. Wer trug ihn gegen die beissende Biese um den Hals geschlungen? Wer friert heute ohne das Tuch?

Der rote, samtige Pulli, den ich vor dem Haus, in dem ich damals wohnte, auf der Mauer fand.

Textile; Gewobenes, Gewirktes. Textile, die sich um Menschen webten, auf Menschen wirkten. Textile, die sich um Menschen weben, auf Menschen wirken.

hManche von Ihnen werden ein Zuhause. Ich denke dabei an den Fliegerhut eines verstorbenen Grossvaters. Ich trage ihn auf dem Kopf und der Hut mich durch den Winter.

Ich mag Hüte. Ein kleines Dach über dem Kopf. Ein Zuhause eben.

In neues Jeans gehüllt, trete ich auf die fremden Strassen hinaus. Menschen gehen sie auf und ab. Kleider und Leute; sie machen sich in Wechselwirkung.

Da, am Strassenrand liegt eine schmale Trainerjacke. Ich denke an eine junge Frau. Eine, die in Bangladesch zwischen dutzend anderen jungen Frauen drei weisse Streifen auf die blaue Stoffjacke aufnäht. An eine junge Frau, die nach dem Workout verschwitzt friert, sich dieselbe Jacke hier im Westen überzieht.

Ich bin als eine der Passant:innen weiter durch die Strassen geschlendert. Mich mit jedem Schritt weitergedacht, einmal ostwärts und wieder zurück.

Ich biege in eine kleinere Strasse ab, hab mich verloren, dabei fällt mein Blick auf drei aneinandergereihter Schuhpaare. Ich sehe darin Kinderfüsse, sie spielen aufgeregt durch den Trubel der Stadt.

Der Herbst bläst und färbt zwischen den Häusern, ich vergrabe mich im Blau der Jeansjacke und bilde mir ein, ihn leise spüren zu können. Ihn, der die Jacke vor mir trug. Fast ist es so, als gingen wir gemeinsam, we walk together. Do you wanna walk with us too?

Join us and become an influencer for a better future: ecologize, decolonize and degender your style!

VESTITHEK

VESTITHEQUE

VESTITHEQUE

STREETWARE saved item - Berlin's most sustainable fashion label launched on September 15, 2021 its second pop up flagship store in Berlin Neukölln.

At the Helene Nathan Library, the store offered a spectacular selection of clothing from the streets of Neukölln for three months starting September 15 until December 15: STREETWARE at its purest! In our store, people can marvel at, try on and borrow genuine street clothes. 

Why borrowing clothes is fun and trendy? The saved items not only shine with an aestethic of diversity that meets the boldest demands for style people of all stripes will find it here - our clothes contain curiosities mesh wise. The textiles also tell a story: the faded jeans with a used look by Levi's, the leather skirt by Gianni Versace, the knitted jumper by Kickers or the little black dress by Dior take us to China, Bangladesh, Turkey. They recount transcontinental journeys of the people who made the clothes and the bodies that wore them. But they also remind us of the dark side of the fashion industry: low wages, poor working conditions in the Global South, the environmental impact of unsustainable raw material extraction and toxic dyes. 

STREETWARE saved item is looking for these stories on the streets of Neukölln, saves, archives and publishes them, so that people can get in touch with them like with the heroes of their favorite novel. 

At Helene-Nathan Library stories inform and inspire. This is where we tied in: Trough the narrative of textiles STREETWARE saved item explored the culture of 'discarded clothing' regarding its social significances: the garments shed lights on production methods, consumption and identity. 

PurviDhranghadaryia advised you on sustainable and stylistic issues between September 15 to December 15, 2021 - Mondays & Wednesdays from 1 to 7 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm. Montag & Mittwoch von 13:00-19:00 Uhr und am Samstag von 10:00-13:00 Uhr.

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Become an influencer with us and join our movement for a wearable future: Degender and decolonise your style!

The Vestitheque was realised in the frame of 'The Congress on the Clothes Dump' . These Congress described a series of events between September and November 2021 dedicated to an inclusive and participatory philosophizing about the meaning of clothes, their production, distribution and consumption. Invited guests and random attendees digged into textonic layers, searched for solutions, questioned the ethics of the second skin. Clothing protects and adorns. It represents basic aesthetic and existential needs, but its mode of production destroys the environment on a large scale and endangers the physical and psychological well-being of the people who cope with the manufacturing processes in socially intolerable conditions. How could sustainable production and economy look like - this is what we explored between November 16 and 28 together with author Beatrice Lamwaka, fashion designer Ruth Faith Nalule, photographer Jim Joel Nyakaana and Social Entrepreneur and environmental activist Kisitu Aloysius Musanyusa in a multi-perspective way. Venues for the public pondering were Bikini Berlin, the laundromat 115 in Torstraße and the Vestithek in the Helene Nathan Library.

The Vestithek's offer to borrow garments at the Helene-Nathan Library is accompanied by a framework program. Two lectures, a panel discussion and two hands-on workshops will serve as a starting point for an interdisciplinary exploration of the promises of clothing and fashion - the fabric in which we wrap our dreams and which, in excess, becomes a nightmare for people and the planet.

Wäsche En Plein Air

Laundry 'En Plein Air'

Laundry 'En Plein Air'

challenges fast fashion En Plein Air at the 48 hours Neukölln, forum for artistic projects from all sectors of the Berlin art scene. 
On the 19th and 20th of June 2021 | Installation featuring 48 laundry racks | Körnerpark Berlin-Neukölln
all photos © Paolo Gallo

Over the course of two days during the art festival 48 Stunden Neuköllnthe challenges fast fashion team transformed itself into true plein air painters.As location and motif for our painting sessions, we chose the magnificent landscapes of the Körnerpark in Neukölln.

Alice Fassina rings in the big wash!

On the early hours of a Saturday, on the 19th of June, we set up our unique easels in front of the Galerie im Körnerpark and began to paint using some very unusual colours: Our ‘saved items’ – clothes saved by our own team – were hanging over 48 laundry racks that were collected from the streets of Berlin or kindly donated by people from the community: The colour palette we could choose from was made up entirely of the wardrobes of Neukölln's inhabitants and came together to form a neo-impressionist tableau. 

The sculptural intervention 'En Plein Air' performed different roles:

A piece of art:
The laundry flowing in the open air created a distinctive contrast to the architectural design of the gallery in the Orangery and the overall look of the park. The domestic activity of laundry-making now took place in a neo—baroque green space, playfully experimenting both with social etiquette and washing instructions.

A participative installation:
Everyone was encouraged to take pieces of clothing home with them, contribute items from their own wardrobes or exchange garments for one another. During the two days, the installation continuously assumed new unexpected and unpredictable colours and shapes.

A cluster of a circular exchange of ideas:
Our community of ragpickers provided an open space to explore questions of identity and sociality, consumerism and modes of fashion production. The participating audience confirmed once again that not only the need for clothing but the joy of dressing up is something that unites us all, regardless of age, gender or language.

An unusual experience:  The most curious participants booked a STREET SHOPPING tour with us and got to experience first-hand how much fun a ragpicker has at work. As we cruised through the neighbourhood, saving discarded clothing, we contemplated the impact of fashion and the global textile industry on our lives and the environment. No tour ever ended without textile trophies on mobile clothes racks and many a garment already found a new owner during our city strolls.

The last STREET SHOPPING tour was led by Cryptida furry fairy-being: an entity without gender, she/he/it went searching for human 'i-thems', exploring them on his/her own body.

On Sunday evening, 20th of June, a concert by the event series 'Sommer im Park' accompanied the dismantling of our installation and we left the baroque park with the Citizen's new clothes, brimming with memories of interesting conversations and moving encounters.

We would like to thank all STREETWARE team members and friends who made 'En Plein Air' possible at a scorching 36 degrees:

 Alice Fassina | Hatim Alyafi | Céline Iffli-Naumann | Jan Markowsky | Stella Cristofolini | Lina Tegtmeyer | Aïcha Abbadi | Andreas Herbst | KDindi | Paolo Gallo | Daniela Sant | Jule Kox | Anneta Pap | Therry Konrath | Marie Lou Honert | Chiara Radina |

And one more thing: The journalist Hanna Komornitzyk  has written in art-in-berlin- about STREETWARE saved item En Plein Air at 48 hours Neukölln

En Plein Air' at the art festival '48 hours Neukölln ' was supported by the Creative Matterz Fund

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CMP – colonial matrix of power

CMP – colonial matrix of power

CMP – the colonial matrix of power

Sculpture in progress | second hand dress | made-in labels
2021 | idea & concept: barbara caveng | realisation: Céline Iffli-Naumann
installation: Alice Fassina | Céline Iffli-Naumann | Lina Tegtmeyer
showcase U7 Karl Marx Straße until July 31, 2021
©Alice Fassina

 

 

Greetings from Uganda

a letter from barbara caveng

100% silk, a flowing floral summer dress - only 50 cents and it's mine. In converted currency, of course. At Kalerwe market on the outskirts of Kampala, I pay two thousand Ugandan shillings. The trader laughs, then kisses the banknote. This,he euphorically announces to the crowd gathered around a pile of clothes, is the first earning of the day.After all, it is already 2.30 pm. I make my way to the centre of the market and, squeezing through the crowds of people, quickly settle on three T-shirts:

A light green Adidas shirt, a shirt that says 'Straight Outta Kindergarten' and another one, advertising for 'SeCla Gerüstbau' in embroidered lettering, including a German mobile phone number. The construction company's lettering stretches white on black across the entire back of the shirt. The seller insists that the Adidas shirt is worth 8000 shillings, i.e. 2 €, the other two change hands for 1.5 € each.

Made in Bulgaria, made in China, made in Honduras, made in Turkey.

Second-hand clothing gushes like a stream of lava over the city and surrounding countryside. Sellers queue up in front of somewhat inconspicuous looking warehouses, stacked to the top with 45 kg bales of clothing, waiting to receive their goods: 380 pieces each of women's outerwear, vacuum-packed, in a plastic bag.

They guarantee survival.

SecondHand Ware  | Kampala 2021

Imported from the US, Japan and Europe.

 

Since 2017, the government has been threatening to ban the import of second-hand clothing and has increased import duties. The 'Buy Uganda Build Uganda' campaign is designed to strengthen the local textile economy, the manufacturing sector as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. Its focus is on sustainability. Nevertheless, 95% of cotton continues to be shipped abroad. 'The quality of the second-hand products is better than what we can currently produce', explains the wholesaler in front of his vacuum-packed clothing castle, 'we can't even afford to think about quality'. 'The quality of the second-hand products is better than what we can currently produce', explains the wholesaler in front of his vacuum-packed clothing castle, 'we can't even afford to think about quality'.

This is a statement those that sell and those that buy unanimously agree on.

As of 8 June, Uganda has been in its second lockdown. It's been 42 days. The pandemic poses a twofold threat to people's lives: death from a Corona infection combined with rapidly deteriorating living conditions – where hunger and poverty eventually join forces.

When doing the laundry,a woman tells me that, she worries about how her family is actually going to survive..

Doing the laundry here means washing by hand. Electricity is not always available and certainly never a given. The second-hand clothes have been laid out to dry on the lawn.

The lives of the people in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China or elsewhere on this planet, who are sewing around the clock to guarantee the continuous supply of fast fashion and the lives of those – for example in Uganda – who wear the shed-off clothing of European consumers who conveniently order them in online shops only to get rid of them again, are put at risk – due to global economic interests and thoughtless consumers.

The nation’s tailors are sitting at their pedal-powered sewing machines made by Singer or are working in the dim light of their rooms. The machine is a real beauty: Black with golden lettering and curved ornaments – an inheritance of British colonialism: the colonial past has seamlessly carried over into our postcolonial modern society. The second-hand clothes flooding Uganda and their resulting socioeconomic consequences damage the country and its local textile industry and manufacturers – which, without electricity, will never be able to compete with the international textile industry.

Mpigi and Kampala, Uganda | 06.29.2021

barbara caveng is currently - June 7 until July 18 - in Uganda as a participant in the ifa 'artist contacts' programme. Her work encompasses the trade of second-hand textiles and the practice of textile care, as well as the production of clothing by local tailors and designers.

In Lumpen für die Zukunft

In Lumpen für die Zukunft

In Lumpen für die Zukunft

Die Lumensammler:innen von STREETWARE in guter Gesellschaft der Karnevalist:innen für die Zukunft auf der Tour durch Neukölln. Am Richardplatz laufen Franziska Welp und Jan Markowsky vorne weg.
alle Fotos ©Till Rimmele

Windböen, Regen, Kälte: So hat der Umzug für den “Karneval für die Zukunft”, organisiert von Artistania e.V., am 12. Juni 2021 angefangen.
Beweise für einen Klimawandel? Vielleicht…

Alice Fassina berichtet aus der Sicht der  Lumpensammler:in.

Das Thema Umweltschutz wurde von STREETWARE und vielen anderen Berliner Gruppen und Akteuren auf  kreative Weise verteidigt. Bunt und laut sind wir durch Neukölln marschiert um mit Musik, Performances, in Kostümen und mit Wagen gemeinsam unser Bewusstsein für Umweltfragen zu fördern. Wir haben bewiesen, dass diese Auseinandersetzung nicht immer ernst und anstrengend sein muss, sondern dass es auch Spaß machen kann! Falls ihr dabei wart – konntet ihr unserem ‘clothes horse’/’Kleider-Pferd’ widerstehen? Es brachte Jung und Alt zum Lächeln! Oder habt ihr uns als farbige Wirbel beim Tanzen gesehen? Haben eure Hüften gezuckt und eure Füße gewippt?

Wir haben die Figur der Lumpensammler:innen neu erfunden: Schicht um Schicht von der Straße geretteter Kleidung trugen wir auf unseren Körpern präsentoerten sie als als fliegende Händler:innen  den Zuschauer:innen . Die feine Grenze zwischen unsere Figuren und einem Menschen, der in der Realität gezwungen ist, zu wandern, von der Straße zu sammeln und auf der Straße zu schlafen, deutete einer unserer sechs fahrbaren Wäscheständer an: Es hingen keine Kleidungsstücke an seinen Leinen, sondern es lag eine Matratze darauf.

Dank an die Lumpensammler:innen:

Alice Fassina | Céline Iffli-Naumann | Jan Markowsky | Franceska Welp | Daniel Sant | Ines Tentscher und  die Schüler:innen der Willkommensklasse von  Sakine Akguel der Otto-Hahn Schule Berlin -Neukölln, die mit uns gelaufen sind.

Weitere Infos zum Karneval für die Zukunft >

DIE DRESSERIE

DIE DRESSERIE

DIE DRESSERIE

STREETWARE saved item - Berlin's most sustainable fashion label launched its first pop up flagship store in Berlin Neukölln at May 30, 2021.

At gallery Walden you found a spectacular selection of garments from the streets of Neukölln – stone-washed jeans by Acne, preloved sweatpants by G-Star Raw, knitted jumpers by Dolce&Gabbana or the little black dress by Dior – all presented in the most dazzling way possible in an impressive installation that unites white cube and tarmac: the Walden Gallery is transformed into a debate forum for global socio-ecological, economic and aesthetical issues. STREETWARE saved item explores the culture of "discarded clothing" regarding its social significance: The catwalk will shed light on consumption, production methods and identity.
We invited all urban people and Homini Circularis to our Dressery to try on our latest collection! Your slogan still remains the same: How about borrowing something? It's the new marketing concept, the modern way of shopping!

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Become an influencer with us and join our movement for a wearable future: Degender and decolonise your style!

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