Clothing the Self
to sustainable clothing design
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Herderin started in 2018 in Oakland, California by Alexandria Vasquez, PhD, a sociologist who had been working with clothing design and theory since 2013. The initial three main primciples of Herderin were that the fiber sourcing was as local and natural as possible; that such fabrics were minimally intervened with design practices; and that the sizing and styles were size- and gender fluid. From the beginning, Herderin has been most inspired by approaches found in the work of chefs like Alice Waters and Marco Pierre-White, as opposed to anything found in the world of fashion. Our goal was to let nature speak for itself, and to take the designer out of the equation. Further, the inspiration for our design approach came from prior work in exploring empathic design principles in other fields of design. Using Temple Grandin’s work as inspiration, a connection emerged between Vasquez’s sociology and design backgrounds as a relevant application for considering the clothing design process: starting with the social and emotional needs of the wearer to extend use-cycle (longevity) of the garment itself by meeting those immaterial needs.
What we didn’t realize at the time was that the way Herderin’s designs were created and developed were also a main principle to our work. Beginning with the exploration of sensuality, Herderin discovered that when design is for the social- and emotional qualities of people, a values-driven aesthetic emerges that seeks to deepen the experience of clothing beyond it’s value as a fashion object of trend, and ultimate waste.
What Herderin seeks to continue developing is a de-fashioning approach to clothing design that deepens the human experience beyond visual feedback that’s embedded in cultural and social institutions that misguide the awareness of humanity’s natural sense of self. In doing this, we seek to decolonize fashion by creating clothing research and design approaches that bridge the gap between sustainability and cultural change.
In order to do this, Herderin’s mission is to create intersectional, artisinal knowledge that can be built upon for future generations in order to shift away from the dominant framework of fashion design education, where sociological- and psychological theories of the human history and lifelong relationship to clothing are absent. A major component to our practice is also working by hand in- stead of using computer software. We believe that clothing is too sensual of an object to make uniform and scalable. Instead, we seek to make clothing personal. Every garment is single-tailor made, as we believe that each piece should feel like a gift more than a factory-made object.
Today, we consider Herderin an auto-ethnographical research and design studio, and we strongly oppose the titles of “brand” and “fashion designers.” Though we are principled in our ethos, we never want to be dogmatic. Flexibility matters, and so does staying open to change and discovery.
The Herderin studio is located in San Rafael, California as of 2020.
Why does Herderin create gender fluid garments as opposed to unisex, and is it the same category?
Most unisex design implies a gender performance can still be achieved when either a man or woman wears the clothing. This is a limiting perspective, and projects the social construct of gender onto the wearer by suggesting that one can still look “masculine enough” as a male body, or “androgenous / female-passing” as a woman.
Gender fluid design means that there is as little gender performance as possible. More specifically, that male bodies do not need to perform masculinity when wearing gender fluid clothing. When we use the term “gender performance” we are referring to the work of sociologist, Erving Goffman, on “dramaturgy”, and Judith Butler’s work on “gender performativity.” It is in this example we can articulate how cross-disciplinary approaches to design can impart cultural change over time, and promote the idea that the future of sustainable and regenerative clothing design is cross-disciplinary.
However, there is special considerations with this approach to gender fluidity in clothing design, which is that the physique of bodies are often different based on sex. Women, as sex with the potential to gestate humans, have a reproductive body, which is witnessed in wider hips and upper legs. We must celebrate this body, as it is the source of life and creation for our species. Therefore, some of Herderin’s designs are inspired to highlight the beauty of this region of the body, and to provide somatic design responses to providing it comfort.
What has been most striking in our time working with clients and customers, is their concerns for clothing to draw less attention to the natural body. “Is this flattering?” has been a common ques- tion heard echoed throughout dressing areas. In our design process, we do not consider whether a garment is flattering based on Westernized standards of beauty and body image. Instead, we think about our work as a resistance to such culturally reproduced ideas. We believe that the status of women in Western society has somewhat advanced culturally and economically, but the oppression of women still manifests in a deeper non-confirming sense of self [worth] that is observed in how they may seek to change their bodies via clothing. Herderin’s mission is to heal the relationship men, women, non-binary / queer, people have to their bodies, while paying special honor in recognizing and celebrating the differences between them. This is what we mean by inclusive sizing and design.
We believe that every garment Herderin makes must be embued with a sense of sensuality, and we invite the most deepest of masculine identities to wear our clothing. Men often buy a range of Herderin garments, but we are most impressed by the men who purchase our Merino Sweaterdress. Dresses are comfortable for anyone - what’s more to be said? Free the groin, free the womb. Celebrate our bodies — this genius vehicle for consciousness and connection.
Sustainable design does not require much technological advancement at this time in history. Rather, simplicity may be our source for cultural innovation.
Herderin does not use any hardware in its clothing.
Our bodies expand and contract, and change throughout our entire lives. Not only this, the women’s reproductive system makes it so that the body expands and contracts every month.
It is merely a fantasy to envision that clothing size should be static, and because of the industry practices surrounding size and fit, people (especially women, and particularly vulnerable are the younger ones) are being communicated to via their clothing that they are either just right, or not right at all. Something about their inherit nature has to change in order to fit into the same pair of jeans that they did seasons ago. This design problem reproduces a psychological and somatic challenge for people of this time in history, and reinforces cultural norms and values that are not nature-responsive. The body moves - shouldn’t sizing accommodate this?
It is widely unsustainable to have a wardrobe one can only fit into during times they are not carrying excess water (the body is composed of 80 percent water), fat, and even a gestating human. We believe that the same pant should fit whether one is pregnant, experiencing weight loss or gain, and/or experiencing changes to their body based on the lineraity of time and age. Clothing should reinforce affirmations of the self -- not just aesthetically, but also physically. When we design for expression alone, we miss an opportunity to support peoples’ emotional status in how the clothing fits on their body. A well-fitting button fly pant may only support one’s emotional status when they are ‘perfect’ - hence, the idea of a ‘perfect fit’. What if clothing design communicated that one is always perfect - no matter their shape and size? To us, that is the healing our culture needs. Not more diets, and certainly not more aspirational sizes. We believe in full body positivity, and design this into Herderin’s offerings.
Further, Herderin is inspired by the longstanding philosophical discourse on “what a body can do,” which was first considered by Spinoza and Deleuze, and more recently was made meaningful by the work of Sara Hendren, who teaches design to engineering students. Hendren’s work has focused on how the body meets the built environment, and how humans can be in collaboration with the built environment rather than against it. However, clothing has been left out of this philosophical discourse, and Herderin asks: isn’t clothing also part of the built environment?
As designers, there is space to consider how the body meets the built world. Clothing is the closest to our body of all things in the built environment, except for prosthetics and adaptables. If designers treat clothing beyond the functional qualities it provides, they can then understand that clothing is also an emotional and social object, therefore requiring a complex combination of factors to bring forth meaningful objects that are regenerative and have the potential for sustainability. Without such consideration, clothing is just ornate experimentation, which also has a specific purpose and use, but is not the focus of Herderin’s work.
Herderin has constructed a number of wrap pant designs, as well as other flexible waistband designs, that are embued with a sense of self acceptance. Clothing should not be a barrier to the self, and it should never give people non-confirming statements. Designing the built environment means creating affirmations of possibility in order to allow humans to develop other forms of awareness that they seldom have opportunity to explore
The home[body] should be its own retreat.
