Hand Me Downs

A Fibers Showcase Exploring the Life Cycle of Clothing as a Resource for Community and Memory. Passing down clothing out of need is not a new concept. Families and communities have been swapping clothing for generations, and as they are passed down they begin to take on a new life. Clothing holds intimate memories that transcend across different communities and bring people together. With sustainability and using our resources to the utmost becoming a trend as well as a need, clothing swaps have become the new norm, but there’s nothing new under the sun. These are the themes of Hand Me Downs, a fibers showcase exploring the life cycle of clothing as a resource for community and memory. Growing up, the anticipation of waiting for a cousin to grow out of a garment was sometimes the closest thing to shopping we had. Or waiting for grandma to pass down coveted jewelry to carry on legacy and keep a loved one close. Each time a garment is passed down a memory is added, a bond between previous owners is formed, and a piece of clothing continues to serve its purpose. Hand-me-downs build and strengthen our community by allowing us to give and be of service to others while also using the resources around us. The simplest thing that we can do is to be of service to others in any way that we can. Whether it be a physical resource, sharing time, or emotional support, leaning on community is a survival tactic that will forever be sustained by the power of the unification of people and we need that now more than ever. UN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS We use Detroit’s UNESCO City of Design designation as a call to action for Detroiters to embrace the Sustainable Development Goals in their own communities, contributing to the active effort of solving global interconnected issues.