World 45, Exploration C

In World 45, window coverings – rather than personal wardrobes – are the focus of fashion. Since the development of power looms in the Industrial Revolution, people have been superstitious about cutting newly woven cloth; consequently, all textiles are initially used as curtains. It is considered bad luck to make a curtain into garments or other items until it has been hung for at least a year. 

The Textile Baptism Dictionary (Material–Spiritual / Spiritual–Material) is used to aid expressive conversations, as the household plans their transformation of curtain fabric into clothes, and to replace the curtain. The dictionary contains a rich language to describe the material and spiritual qualities of transformation. Specific papers are added over time to ensure the positive growth of the household over generations.

The video shown here is a compilation of ‘Transformation Notification Gifs’, which are sent to your phone as a reminder that your curtains have hung for one year and as a material representing your spiritual well being, the fabric is ready to be cut into new clothing. The gif is a documentation of how we thank nature for our materials and give a sample of the curtain back to nature. We let everything the curtain has witnessed over the last year, move into the past, and allow for the creative potential the household is about to receive. The household will often invite a special someone to help with the creation of these meaningful gifs.

This Exploration was contributed by Gautham Krishna, Rachael Matthews and a Fashion Fictions contributor (located in the UK), developed from a World contributed by Amy Twigger Holroyd, using a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence which allows others to share and adapt the work in any medium and for any purpose, providing that they credit the authors and share their material using the same Creative Commons licence.