Zoe Cockinis

The brief for this project was to look at the term survival and present it in a design. The term survival is most commonly thought to be linked to the ideas of endurance, existence and continuity. For this project I wanted to look at how survival becomes survival. I aimed to discover how items survive and questioned if items can survive. Clothing is something that can be used yet so easily discarded with no second thought of its end of use. When arriving in a second-hand shop though, the chance of survival is regained. The act of being in the second-hand shop already demonstrates its own survival in its own story.

Throughout the publication, five items were explored, which are made up of a yellow jacket, green top, flower tie, cargo shorts and a little black dress. Each item has had its background researched and pieced together to allow a story to be formed. This story then goes on to help with understanding the item's survival. The story is told through the voice of the item as it was their journey to the second-hand shop. Lastly, the reader is questioned as to if the item is still able to continue and survive or if it has run its course.

From the manufacturers, to the shelves and then their final resting place, clothes have travelled with untold stories. They have survived to the point where they may get a second chance and perhaps create a new survival story. In order to demonstrate this idea of survival, I used a publication as it allows stories of the clothes’ survival to easily be expressed. I explored their agencies and who they were before I discovered them. Some of these clothes may have been around longer than some readers, exposing the length of some of these survival stories. Looking at their past life gives an indication of how their previous lives might have been and if they have a second chance of survival.

From researching into their pasts, it is clear that these articles of clothing have had a lifetime before us and may continue too. They have experienced persistence and endurance to make it to the second-hand shop, in hopes that the second-hand shops with provide them with new opportunities. Reminding ourselves that if something is not broken, their story is not broken and therefore it survived, and their story can continue to survive too.

Throughout the publication, the articles of clothing are not displayed fully, only details in the clothing. The reasoning for this is that it allows for the little details we might have not noticed to be seen and appreciated. It also doesn’t restrict how the viewer may view the items. Having little sections of it allows the reader to piece them together for themselves. Having a little bit more creativity with who and what item this is.

Without planning it, three of the five items have been rehomed and will continue to survive. The cargo shorts were the only item that were not worn, used or rehomed. When starting this project, I had planned to give the items back to the second-hand shop, yet during the documentation process more than half of them were able to avoid this ending as they were found desirable by other people.