The Slovenian clothing and textile industry developed from the tradition of textile units that existed between the wars. Most companies were created on the basis of manufacturing or craft workshops, which were nationalized after WWII or they were donated by the owners to the state, or they were established on the basis of the textile tradition in the environment and the need to include the female workforce in the processes of industrialization.
The works explore various aspects of understanding the collapse of the textile industry. The tasks were related to the research of one's own authorial identity, the search for the cultural roots of an individual and her design involvement in contemporary thinking about the importance of the clothing industry today. The resulting forms are the result of the search for technological processes that go beyond the manufacture of functional clothing. They are a response to the challenges of the moment and the space of origin and a visual reflection on the possibilities offered by the rich clothing and textile tradition in Slovenia.
Eva Rogl Mežnar researches the way human body boundaries merge with tree branches and create new coexistence.
Gaja Zadravec uses rusty objects and household textile waste, which is dyed with natural dyes.
Lara Turnšek researches Slovenian clothing industry, which was based on the female workforce. In her work, parts of a man’s jacket fall apart into intertwined structured surfaces.
Karin Golobič deals with closed clothing form which is a metaphor for Slovenian clothing industry. Latter was once an important pillar of the economy.
Anja Kokalj focuses on the structure of the surface which is the carrier of the construction of the form. It shows fragility and reflection on the black fate of the Slovenian clothing industry.
Špela Perc focuses on the fundamental point of the clothing form – the corset and its context in the history of clothing. The relationship between body deformation and the clothing used is an integral part of the expressiveness of fashion.
Photography: Maša Pirc / BIEN 2021
