Fashion behind bars
November 24, 2014 9:05 AM   Subscribe

Project Pietà clothing is the brainchild of Thomas Jacob, a French designer who moved to Lima in 2011 to pursue a job with a Peruvian fashion label. A chance visit to a neighbouring jail, Casto Castro, with a friend who was teaching the inmates French opened Jacob’s eyes to the possibility of a clothing project behind prison walls. “There are all sorts of initiatives when it comes to art or music, but fashion is popular with prisoners because it’s about the body. In prison, it’s the body which is imprisoned as well as the mind. And fashion allows a degree of physical self-expression which enhances the body.”

Neve Tirza, Israel’s only women’s prison, recently hosted its first fashion show. Models showcased clothes designed and made by inmates as part of their rehabilitation.
posted by billiebee (2 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Super interesting. Given the use of prison labor by many manufacturers, I was wary of the "oh let's use idle hands and idle machines" genesis of the project but I am hoping the piece rate -- "prisoners are paid a share of each garment they are involved in making" -- is a reasonable/ethical rate.

I'm curious how the aesthetics of a prison are being commodified as backdrop for these fashion shoots. In the Israel example, "a string of professional models strode the red carpeted runway against a background composed of fencing and barbed wire, clad in creations inspired by the idea of “freedom” in all its forms."
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:38 PM on November 24, 2014


Yes, I think that struck me most in this image, of the model in the wedding-type-dress against the grey prison wall covered in metal fencing. It's such a high-fashion shot, the juxtaposing of beautiful clothes against gritty urban landscapes being a now-common feature of fashion shoots. But in this instance, the idea of the models and photographers and crew packing up and heading home while the people who live in this particular urban landscape are literally trapped in their environment is very striking and poignant.

For me, I think the images of the red carpet were a striking reminder of how little colour there is in prison. It stands out so strongly against the palette of black and white and grey, and made me think of how it's another punishment inflicted by the penal system - the deliberate witholding of colour, given what we know about the effects colours have on our mood.
posted by billiebee at 2:26 AM on November 25, 2014


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