Under the umbrella of the collaborative project Artistic Ecologies: New Compasses, Tools and Alliances we set up ‘The Subversive Textile Workshop’ at the Rijksakademie. At this workshop, which runs from November 2022 to April 2023, artist and Rijksakademie alum Wouter van der Laan, artist/ fashion designer Esther Meijer and art collective We Sell Reality, are collectively making a fashion line called Homies. It is an open process that can be joined by artists in residence from the Rijksakademie and others who strongly relate to the project. The Subversive Textile Workshop focusses on facilitating engaged dialogues during the making processes, and provides weaving looms, access to block printing, silkscreen printing and sewing machines.
Homies is a fashion line that explores the notions of home, from the perspective of being without a home. It is a fashion line inspired by memories related to homes left behind, and by a frustrated search for a new place to land. Homies is about how friends can become substitute to survive feelings of not being grounded. Homies is becoming a super funky fun fashion line sparked by fighting injustices, combining old and new techniques. Wearing Homies, means solidarity with all who got displaced, and an identification with the ones unrecognised.Homies becomes a home in itself.
The fashion line will be presented late 2023 or early 2024 at Framer Framed, Amsterdam.