OBA

FASHION MACHINE:
FLEECE AFTERLIFE:
CUT THE CRAP WITH CONNY:

OBA, Oosterdokskade 143, Amsterdam
> on display from April until June 2019 <

FASHION MACHINE AND THE SEDUCTION OF PLASTIC CLOTHING
Plastic is becoming an ever-growing problem because it doesn’t degrade and so it is slowly taking over our world
– even our wardrobes!

Do you have a fabulous fleece onesie in your closet, a soft suit in which you can chill out on the couch for hours? Or,
perhaps you have a fleece sweater that you always wear when hiking? It’s very warm, dries quickly and feels
light as a feather. They sound ideal, don’t they?

Unfortunately, fleece isn’t exactly the ‘eco-solution’ the market once promised. Transforming PET (or, polyethylene
terephthalate) plastic bottles to yarn and clothing is promoted as a remedy to the plastic waste problem. In reality, it’s
a surrogate solution because the garments contribute to, what is for many people, the invisible waste chain of the
fashion industry via overproduction, offcuts, discarded items, and the thousands of microplastics released when
such fabrics are machine washed. 

There is a massive fleece surplus, but it is the least popular material at collection centres for
discarded clothing. As such, fleece will often end up in the incinerator before it is even worn. Can we together use the
Fashion Machine to solve fashion’s plastic problem?

WE MAKE THE CITY

Together with fashion designer Conny Groenewegen, participants designed a collection with discarded
polyester-fleece sweaters from Amsterdam. Moreover, we knitted an enormouspolyester-fleece tunnel! At the
end of the day, we organized a colorful fashion-march at the OBA escalators and in front of the building.

Graphic design exhibition: Manon Bachelier
Photography: Stefan Schotsborg