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Portfolio title 7KatSeptember 4, 2017March 4, 2024

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POPFest was so great! We had a wonderful book laun POPFest was so great! We had a wonderful book launch and celebration of the POP research - with talks, film showing, performance and a fantastic catwalk of reconstructed patented costumes. Enormous thanks to everyone involved. 🎉
What a night! What a night!
This is the last in this series of peeks inside ou This is the last in this series of peeks inside our upcoming book, Wearable Utopias. Ideas around citizenship and work are intimately connected. In WORKING, we showcase the inventions of designers who challenge inequalities by creating wearables that render visible, and possible, a wider range of professional identities. Victoria Jenkins of @unhidden.uk produces garments for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. Stylish adaptivewear supports people in maintaining their dignity and autonomy while also looking professional in the workplace. In her Iyá Àlàro (Indigo Dyers) project @abiolaonabule explores the gendered histories of indigo dying and àdìrẹ, combining vibrant material practices with storytelling about the history of women textile makers and business owners in Yoruba communities. After years of personal experience of wearing ill-fitting workwear on building sites, farms, and long-haul ships, Mimosa Schmidt of @sukworkwear now produces workwear for bodies ignored by conventional trade suppliers. No chafing here. With her high impact fashion pieces, necklaces, and hats, @debrarapoport (Advanced Style collective) challenges conventional ideas around ageing. Instead of getting smaller, more isolated, or less visible with age, she advocates for freedom of expression. We are immensely grateful to all our contributors for talking with us about their critical, creative practices that disrupt normative assumptions that shape everyday life. In Wearable Utopias we show how ideas in wearable form can be tools of expression, refusals to submit to restrictive ideals, and joyful acts of resistance. Here, wearables are more than simply “things that can be worn.” Wearables have potential to be world-making and world-changing devices that render visible alternative futures via glimpses of new, more expansive worlds and envisioning fresh ways of inhabiting existing ones. Wearable Utopias. Wearable Utopias: Imagining, Inventing, and Inhabiting New Worlds is out on the 24th of September and available from @mitpress either as a printed book or a free, open access download. See the link in our bio to get your copy.
Here's a peek at Chapter 5 of our upcoming book, W Here's a peek at Chapter 5 of our upcoming book, Wearable Utopias. In LEAKING we examine designs that support the ability of citizens to move and dwell comfortably in public space by managing the discharge of bodily fluids, such as urine and menses, in privacy and dignity. Shortfalls in provision and acceptance tackled by inventive wearables. Samantha Fountain talks to us about the @sheweewc female stand-up portable urination device and how weeing outside is just liberating - be it for sportspeople, military personnel or ordinary people during a pandemic. @ameliakociolkowska's Carrie is a washable portable pocket for storing tampons and period pads, that can be attached to the thigh and concealed under clothing. With her we discuss challenges faced by menstruating workers in professions dominated by men. Artist Romina Chuls, @nunahueso, combines knitting- and crochet-based wearables with public performance to challenge the stigma that remains attached to menstruation. A form of activism and subtle resistance where knitting needles become revolutionary tools. Tomorrow we'll wrap up this series and take a look at Chapter 6, WORKING.
Today we'll start with taking a look at Chapter 4 Today we'll start with taking a look at Chapter 4 of our upcoming book, Wearable Utopias. In CONNECTING, we explore citizenship in-the-making through wearables that connect individuals and wider communities to important social and political ideas. These designers use wearables to reshape public narratives and mobilise collective social action. First, @kristasuh talks with us about the distinctive pink two-eared Pussyhat which became an iconic protest symbol at the 2016 Women’s March on Washington, giving wearers a way to visualise their collective support of women's rights. Artist and designer Helen Storey, @dress4ourtime, describes Catalytic Clothing: a collaborative project with chemist Tony Ryan exploring a collective way to use clothing and textiles to tackle the urgent problem of air pollution via washing detergent containing catalytic particles. Dewi Cooke, of @thesocialstudio, uses clothing and sewing skills to forge connections between comparatively established Australian communities and newly arrived immigrant and asylum seekers. Exchanges of cultural and craft knowledge that benefit all. As Studio Orta, @lucyjorgeorta collaborate with groups such as asylum seekers and prison residents. Lucy describes Refuge Wear and Nexus Architecture that involve working closely with communities with shared values. Later today we'll take a look at Chapter 5, LEAKING. Wearable Utopias: Imagining, Inventing, and Inhabiting New Worlds is out on the 24th of September and available from @mitpress either as a printed book or a free, open access download. See the link in our bio to get your copy.
We are very happy to announce that @silviabombardi We are very happy to announce that @silviabombardini passed her viva today with NO corrections. Her thesis is entitled “The Shoplifter’s Clothes: Technologies for a Feminist Practice”. Silvia’s studies were supported by the @erc_research funded POP project, and supervised by Kat, Nirmal Puwar and Rebecca Coleman. The examiners were Ellen Sampson (Northumbria) and Melissa Nolas (who very generously gave her time for this even though she is no longer in the sociology dept). The examiners commented on Silvia’s beautiful writing, fascinating subject area, and robust defence and recommended that she turn her research into a book. Congratulations Dr. Bombardini! We are immensely proud of what you have accomplished. ID: image of three women smiling in the POP studio surrounded by dress forms and fabric
Today we'll take a look at Chapter 3 of our upcomi Today we'll take a look at Chapter 3 of our upcoming book, Wearable Utopias. In CONCEALING we present wearables being used to resist invasive pressures by helping to conceal something. Wearables as acts of concealment with the potential to unsettle assumptions built into the corporeal normativity of citizenship and public space. Leon Baauw of @projectkovr talks about anti-surveillance coats that he developed with Marcha Schagen. The experience of being 'disconnected' in amongst high levels of networked surveillance makes the invisible visible and encourages conversation about digital privacy. Xuedi Chen and Pedro Oliveira designed the Backslash kit to support the needs of citizens taking to the streets to protest for their rights. This includes a bandana with a pattern that, depending on how you fold it, can communicate different messages. http://www.backslash.cc/ @thedazzleclub's @emilyhrodders and @georginarowl organise walks in highly surveilled areas. They draw attention to, and resist, facial recognition technology by painting faces with bold geometric shapes that cannot be read and stored by digital machines. @sissel.karneskog offers a different perspective on concealment via their 'nearly normal' humanwear designs that decentre the normalizing power of andronormativity and binary gender identities. Subversive 'costumes' that play with power relations. Tomorrow we'll take a look at Chapter 4, CONNECTING. Wearable Utopias: Imagining, Inventing, and Inhabiting New Worlds is out on the 24th of September and available from @mitpress either as a printed book or a free, open access download. See the link in our bio to get your copy.
[Re-post to fix incorrect photo credits - sorry! N [Re-post to fix incorrect photo credits - sorry! Nikki] Today we take a look at Chapter 2 of our upcoming book, Wearable Utopias. In MOVING, we bring together designers who challenge conventions that limit who feels safe, comfortable, and welcome to move in and through public space. They create innovative wearables for all kinds of moving bodies and expanded expressions of active citizenship. Aheda Zanetti of @ahiidaofficial describes the origin story of the Burqini and the global impact this modest swimwear has had over the last 20 years. Burqinis are now worn by all kinds of active people - Muslim and non-Muslim - around the world. Melissa Fehr of @fehrtrade designs digital sewing patterns for activewear. To Melissa, all bodies are potentially active bodies. She teaches people how to make bespoke wearables that suit their needs and body shape. Under the banner of Ride With Wolves, Ester van Kempen and friends took inspiration from conversations with other underrepresented cyclists. In response to harassment on the streets, they printed bold slogans in retro-reflective ink to take back a sense of strength. Nicolas Moser and his team at @multiply.office are interested in provocative uses of public space. He shares two projects that seek to expand personal and private ways for citizens to participate in public life: Urban Blanker and Petticoat Dress. Next we'll take a look at Chapter 3, CONCEALING. Wearable Utopias: Imagining, Inventing, and Inhabiting New Worlds is out on the 24th of September and available from @mitpress either as a printed book or a free, open access download. See the link in our bio to get your copy.
We are excited to soon be launching our new book W We are excited to soon be launching our new book Wearable Utopias: Imagining, Inventing, and Inhabiting New Worlds. In it we share insights from 26 designers of inventive wearables alongside explorations of embodied acts of resistance. Wearable Utopias is out on the 24th of September and available from @mitpress either as a printed book or a free, open access download. See the link in our bio to get your copy. Wearable Utopias examines: * the role of wearables - things worn on bodies - in civic concerns * the extraordinariness of ordinary things * how wearables can create possibilities to act differently * and how wearables can catalyse new worlds by interrupting existing ones. Over the next few days we'll give you a tour of the different chapters: EXPANDING, MOVING, CONCEALING, CONNECTING, LEAKING and WORKING. In EXPANDING, we showcase designs that explore challenges experienced by some people as they attempt to claim a fuller experience of citizenship in public space. Material tactics for expanding into physical, social, and political worlds seemingly off limits to some people. Through wearables and accessories that cater to queer, transgender, and disabled people of all ages and body sizes, Sky Cubacub's @rebirthgarments provide accessible and comfortable designs that help commonly ignored or overlooked people to become “radically visible”. @karolinevitto’s designs accentuate the beauty of larger bodies, celebrating their folds, rolls, and curves, and inviting wearers to expand their bodies into the world. Clothes for people who want to “show their bodies, and not to hide them.” Robin Lasser and Adrienne Pao's large-scale architectural tents in the shape of skirts and dresses make humorous and captivating spectacles that pull viewers in close and entice them to question important and sometimes uncomfortable ideas. Augmentation designer @daniclode works with neuroscientists, body confidence advocates, and disability activists. We feature four of their inspiring projects that explore what it might mean to reimagine the body. Tomorrow we'll take a look at Chapter 2, MOVING.
⭐️ POPFEST ⭐️ Please join us a celebrati ⭐️ POPFEST ⭐️ Please join us a celebration of five years of POP - an @erc_research funded project exploring remarkable lesser-known histories of clothing inventions and inventors who tried to change the world stitch by stitch. The evening will feature show & tell and performances by members of the team, snippets of “Women on the Move” short film, a “speculative sewing” catwalk of historic convertible clothing, and launch of our new edited book “Wearable Utopias” (MIT Press). It will all be wonderfully hosted by the inimitable feminist comedian and magician @ada.campe. This is going to be a unique event 😍 Please join us! Tues 17th Sept 6-8.30pm (doors open for drinks and nibbles at 5) Somerset House, London Tickets are FREE and limited RSVP is essential - get your ticket at our Eventbrite page. Link above ⬆️ Hope to see lots of you there! #clothing #inventions #researchpractice #shortfilm #womensfashion #womensinventions #speculativedesign #speculativesewing #patent #patentstudies #performance
POP is very happy to learn that our short film “ POP is very happy to learn that our short film “Women On The Move” - collaboratively made with @adventuresynd & @mrsgowherescotland - has been selected to be shown at the HoryZonty Adventure Film Festival in Trenčin, Slovakia on 7th-9th Nov. ⚡️ Many thanks to the reviewers and organisers! ID:black and white film laurel #filmfestival #womenshistory #inventions #inventor #speculativesewing #womenssports
Here at POP we recently marked two milestones. @si Here at POP we recently marked two milestones. @silviabombardini, the PhD candidate on the project, submitted her doctoral thesis after 4 years of hard dedicated study. And @geo_kalivis, RA on POP, successfully passed his upgrade, which is the halfway point in his PhD. We met for lunch to mark the occasion and wish them well for the next stages. For Silvia it is her upcoming viva and George heads into fieldwork. Exciting times ahead! 🎉📚💻👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 ID: 4 people sit at an outside table at a cafe having lunch. In addition to Silvia and George are Kat (PI) and @aliceeangus who has been sewing with POP. Nikki, another RA on POP, was unable to join us but called in to say hi. So it’s almost a POP team photo!
We were delighted to see the POP project and Georg We were delighted to see the POP project and George themselves featured in the visual capture of the day 😍 Thanks again to Lizzie Reed and their team and artist Pen Mendonca for an inspiring day ID: George smiles in front of a series of drawings on a wall. Several close up images showing text and coloured drawings.
George and Kat had a great time yesterday at the s George and Kat had a great time yesterday at the symposium “Creating & Curating Stories of Queer Transformation” hosted by Lizzie Reed and their team at University of Southampton. We did show & tell about “Extraordinary Wearables: archiving queer inventions, radical transformations & speculative sewing”. ID: George, Kat and Lizzie stand together with artist Pen Mendonca who visually captured the event on the wall behind us.
🎙️ Last month, Kat had the pleasure of talkin 🎙️ Last month, Kat had the pleasure of talking about MAKING at The Sociological Review's UNCOMMON SENSE podcast! From speculative sewing to producing inventive GIFs, films, patterns and more, making has been central in how we understand and do research here at POP. Integrating various layers of crafty creativity in our research team also means constantly transforming DIY (Do-It-Yourself) practices to DIT (Do-It-Together) research methodologies. In this teaser, Kat also shares what our framework of STS (Science and Technology Studies) is all about, and how it leads us to ask crucial questions about tech, neutrality, society and alternative futures. VOICE CAPTION: “It's a really big interdisciplinary field of study, which basically explores how science and technology co-evolves with and in society; how it shapes and is shaped by the world around it. But at its core is the idea that science and technology are never neutral, never independent from society, culture, politics or history. And, you know, it's really important to explore and understand the broader influences and impacts and entanglements of, you know, these things that are so prevalent. Technology is kind of everywhere, depending on, of course, how you define it. I would define clothing as technology, but most people will probably think of digital tech. So, it helps us ask questions about why we have the science and tech we have today. It helps us better understand where they come from, why they take the forms they do, and also how they might have been otherwise. How we might imagine them differently in the future. So all of this maps on pretty well to sociological ideas about the sociological imagination and questions about class and gender and race.” Head over to @thesocreviewpodcasts @thesociologicalreview to find out more and listen to the full episode! #sociology #visualsociology #making #clothes #technofeminist #podcast #technology #science #invention #inventor #speculativesewing #research #researchmethodology

Politics Of Patents Follow

POPinvention

Our new book Wearable Utopias is out on the 24th!
After release you'll be able to buy the book or download the open access version from @mitpress https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262548250/wearable-utopias/

Pre-orders are being taken before then in all the usual places.

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We currently have two tickets available for Tuesday's POPFest event. Come and join us for an evening of historic patented convertible clothing inventions and the launch of our new book!

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