Volksware 759,987.20 Euros coat by Silke Wawro
by TreeHugger on 01.19.05
We like this jacket not because it’s made from recycled labels—no, that would be a cop-out. Instead, we like this jacket for what it stands for: The ironic contrast between individual desire to stand out from the crowd, but using mass-produced products to convey the illusion of a particular, customized lifestyle. Functioning with the knowledge that today products “must offer the consumer a buyable feeling of happiness achieved through brand identity and fast-changing, short-lived trends and styles,” the heady designers at Volksware don’t even actually create products, ...
instead, they scrutinize those with emotional value (an old pair of jeans, a favorite tea cup) and label them “VolksWare,” i.e. the “People’s Product.” Silke Wawro made the coat seen here from 7,531 different, loveable labels, torn from clothing items in order to question the meaning of value and product. She calls it the 759,987.20 Euro coat. The coat’s name refers to its monetary value, of course—and the fact that sentimental value runs high. Via House of Design Via ::Sensory Impact ::VolksWare [by MO]
