Clothes catalogue

Fashion studies and practices in the global north tradition persist in emphasising the visual aesthetic dimension of clothing. Previous studies prioritised how humans ‘imprint’ their culture on clothing through fashion and what can be read from the surface of garments, leaving other experiential dimensions aside. While not entirely negative, this emphasis may also promote harmful outcomes, such as excluding parts of society, supporting superficial relations, and early discard. Seeking to open paths towards other ways of making and thinking about clothing, this work extends efforts in exploring how individuals perceive clothing when devoid of visual inputs. This catalogue draws input from mainstream retailers, but no images of the garments announced are provided at first. Participants are invited to explore the pages and explain the garments in detail, in their own words, using the blank space. Original images of the garments are provided at the end of this publication. This publication is part of a larger study, that explores the role of images in fashion retail, problematising the current practices as an excluding approach to presenting clothes.