Please join the Rational Dress Society for a Make-Your-Own-JUMPSUIT-Workshop!

During this two-day long workshop students learn to construct their own JUMPSUITS, following the pattern designed by The Rational Dress Society. By the end of the workshop, each participant will have a wearable, ungendered monogarment to replace all clothes in perpetuity. As students construct their JUMPSUITS they will receive information, delivered in the form of lectures and discussions, about the origins of modern counter-fashion and the contemporary conditions of the garment industry. Together, we will trace histories of separatist and utopian communities who proposed social reform vis-à- vis experiments in alternative dress, including the 19th century feminist movement, the Oneida Community, the Seventh Day Adventists, the Mormon Strangites, the early Kibbutz movement, the Soviet Avant-Garde and the Italian Futurists. We will also discuss the neoliberal economic policies of the late 20th the 21st. This recent historical shift has lead to the widespread abuse of garment workers and increasing environmental devastation.

JUMPSUIT offers a way out. We suggest that the rejection of choice (otherwise defined as the yoke relentless consumption within the capitalist paradigm) might open us up to greater possibilities and better ways of living. What if you never had to pick out an outfit again? What bonds might be formed between JUMPSUIT-wearing individuals? Come to our workshop and find out!

For this workshop participants will need to have a working sewing machine, and three to four yards of a woven fabric. For example: denim, cotton twill or other durable woven material. The RDS will have black cotton twill available to purchase for $4.95/yd at the workshop, though participants are encouraged to bring a material of their own. Past examples of monogarments from MYOJ workshops have included gold lame, pink cotton sateen, and many varieties of prints. If your fabric is wide (between 50 – 65” wide) then three yards of fabric will suffice. If your fabric is narrow (<40 – 50” wide) or if your fabric has a print that has a direction (where there is a clear up or down direction to the print) then we recommend that you bring 4 to 5 yards of material with you. Scissors that will cut fabric, pins, and thread to match your material will also need to be brought by the students. The Rational Dress Society will provide black and white thread, tailors chalk and measuring tapes as well as the official JUMPSUIT patterns.

For more details or inquiries about supplies email residency coordinator Ariel Gentalen at agentalen@hydeparkart.org