11" x 17" Reader

“What constitutes a clothing collection? To whom does a piece of clothing belong? What is the relationship between a fashion brand’s collection and the contents of the average wardrobe? What does it mean to cut into a garment? What happens when a piece of clothing consists of parts of multiple brands?” —11”x17” Reader

These questions frame 11”x17”, an on-going research project by Elisa van Joolen that challenges the fashion industry’s value systems and questions definitions of ownership and collaboration within fashion. Beginning in 2013, Elisa facilitated conversations with various fashion brands—Nike, G-Star, Converse and others—who then donated clothing and footwear samples to be transformed into unique, one-off pieces by Elisa. Using the USA standard tabloid paper size of 11”x17” as a template, Elisa cut into these garments and sewed them back together irrespective of brand and price-point, highlighting the similarities between garments of the same style and genre. This title features photo documentation of these items, as well as a transcribed interview with Elisa by Ruby Hoette, and contributing essays by Lynn Berger, Pascale Gatzen and others.

2014, English
Author: Elisa van Joolen
Published by: Onomatopee (Netherlands)
Staplebound, 9”x11”,104 pp, b+w with some full color