Made In

Five artefacts from the depot of the National Museum for World Cultures led Lena Winterink to research the materials we wear nowadays.

This project is now archived and was part of DDW22

Coat made of labels from discarded clothes

Lena Winterink

What materials do we wear today? Where do they come from? The labels on our clothing do not provide any information about the origins of the materials used. This coat made of clothing labels from discarded garments, highlights the disappearance of locality from global production systems.

Context

Four young talents were asked by the National Museum for World Cultures to get inspired by the artefacts from the pre-plastic collection of the museum depot, and to develop new ideas from here.

Process

Five wearable objects from the 19th and 20th centuries, all made of different local materials from different continents, led Lena Winterink to think about the clothes we wear nowadays. What materials do we wear today? Where do they come from? Who made them? And what is the significance of their place of origin nowadays?

'Made In'

The words ‘made in…’ can be found on almost every label attached to our garments. But the information about the origin and used materials of a garment are not always transparent. Furthermore, when recycling garments, the labels need to be cut out to keep a high material-quality. With ‘Made In’, Lena Winterink links the global mass production of fashion with a new definition of locality. The coat is made of over 1.300 labels cut out of discarded garments, each providing “information” about the material and origin of the garment it belonged to. With this coat Winterink highlights the disappearance of locality from global production systems.

Artefacts from the depot of NMVW

Lena Winterink

Winterink presents 'Made In' at the Tropenmuseum

Leonne Cuppen

'Made In' at the depot of the Tropenmuseum

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Lena Winterink
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About Lena Winterink

Lena Winterink researches and develops new concepts for the materials we surround ourselves with, both wearable and for interior use. She researches societal themes, such as sustainability, globalisation and social cohesion. Her aim is to make these themes understandable and literally tangible. This translates into narrative designs, in which textiles play a leading role. With her work she shapes new perspectives to interact with our environment and the materials we surround ourselves with.