Ever wonder how you can build a lifetime relationship with your clothes? Meet Ting Gong. She examines if a garment can be more than a product, investigates systems of wearing, and hacks them. She is mainly interested in community building, looking into ways how a garment can be more durable and last a lifetime. Influenced by the traditional clothing of Chinese farmers, she borrows a jacket from her grandma. She was hit by the garment. The way it showcases endless facets of wearing, adjusting, traditions, crafts, aging, and stories. A complete craftswoman’s lifetime, spent in a rural and raw environment, was told in just one particular piece. 

 

With the project “ A way of wearing” she brings the commitment and life stories back. Ting designed a jacket, and both, the wearer and the maker built a relationship with each other and with the garment. The wearer is committed to Ting for 20 years. The wearer will send the garment back to Ting every year, including a letter with a personal event. Ting processes these stories in alterations, adjustments, and embroidery of the apparel. After that, the garment will be returned to the wearer. And when the year passes by, the wearer will send it back again. The story repeats again, and again. A lifetime is granted!