began to be nervous. For example, the SHRWR group’s conditions that their ten
garments had to be free of charge made the Vakko negotiators somewhat con-
fused.
It soon became apparent that we were not on equal level with Vakko, the ”vectorial-
ist” of the project. We should perhaps have been more assertive in our negotiations
and emphasised the massive press exposure the exhibition was beginning to get, so
there is still much to learn and to do in order to get collaborations in this scale off
the ground. A model that works for a small company, like Merimetsa or Dale Sko
that has nothing to lose, faces difficulties when applied to a large-scale project
where the power balance is unbalanced.
Nevertheless, the show had to go on and the exhibition produced for the Vakko
prototypes would still be a fantastic inspiration for the visitors and participants
coming to the workshops at the gallery. Since the hacks of the Vakko garments had
already been made we produced our own fashion photographs of the prototypes.
These received a lot of attention and also raised the atmosphere at the gallery. DIY
does not have to be punk, smell unpleasant or look nasty, but it can also have the
feeling of high fashion. Indeed this was the first impression one got from the pro-
totypes and that the material quality of the Vakko garments gave something extra
to the models that was quite like in the work of Junk Styling who used tailored suits
for their recycling. In the case of Vakko the material quality of blouses, ties, shirt
and bag gave another impact to the prototypes that was even more accentuated in
the exhibition design, where we placed the large format photos next to them.Instructions for Junky Styling’s
two hacked Vakko garments; the Tie
Twist Belt and the Sideways Tank Top.
These were the first reformed garments
to arrive to Istanbul and our Vakko
contacts received them enthusiastically. At
this stage the outcome of the project still
looked promising.