Tescos’ White Collar Shirt, purchased for 4.50 euro; KO White Collar Shirt, assembled from recycled fancy dress.
Frau Fiber, Knock Off Enterprises: the labor behind the label
an At the Edge: Innovative Art in Chicago project
May 5-May 22, 2008
various locations
Frau Fiber, activist and textile worker, mimics the expenditure of apparel production by reconstructing a white shirt and business suit originally produced offshore. A suit and shirt, the archetypal white-collar uniform, is an American icon, standing for quality, dependability and style, enhancing the wearer’s professional image. The remade garments are available for purchase in the storefront, priced on a geographical sliding scale (hours worked to make the reconstructed garment multiplied by the wage scale in the original garment’s country of manufacture—China, Guatemala, Taiwan—equals KO’s cost of the uniform).
Events
white shirt disassembly manufacturing
UE Western Regional Council, 37 South Ashland Avenue
Days of operation: Wednesday, May 7; Monday, May 12; Wednesday, May 14.
Location 1 hours: 10:30 am – 6:00 pm
suit pants & jacket disassembly manufacturing
1513 North Western Avenue
Days of operation: Monday, May 5 – Tuesday, May 6; Friday, May 9 – Saturday, May 10; Tuesday, May 13; Friday, May 16 – Saturday, May 17; Monday, May 19 – Thursday, May 22.
Location 2 hours: 8 am – 8 pm
Manufacturer’s sale
1513 North Western Avenue
Thursday, May 22, 7-9 pm
Saturday, May 24
Unpaid Overtime Hours, 8 am - 2 pm
1513 North Western Avenue
Frau Fiber worked diligently in an effort to complete five white-collar uniforms by Thursday, May 22. She fell 2.5 jackets short by the end of her work shift. After selling two completed white-collar uniforms at the
Manufacturer’s Sample Sale, Frau Fiber returns to her workstation at 1513 North Western Avenue this Saturday, May 24, for unpaid overtime to complete the job.
Reviews
Time Out -- May 22-28, 2008