EVENT 19 WEARABLE SHELTER Due to environmental disasters, human rights violations, civil unrest or even homelessness issue, there are people who are forced out of their homes, stripped of value or identity, and reduced to their physical bodies. How can clothing as the most intimate form of shelter respond psychologically and physically to these traumatized bodies? Clothing-making techniques of weaving, wrapping, stitching, and folding extend into architectural space while providing solutions to typological issues of emergency shelters like multi-functionality, portability, space-saving, and adaptability. Event theme is an extension of the idea of developing an
understanding of the relationship of human body with the space that surrounds them. Dressing of an individual provides a definition of personal space as do architectural structures even though they are different in scale. Both Architecture and Fashion address psychological perceptions, and spatial structures. Both disciplines start with the human body and expand on ideas of space and movement, serving as outward expressions of personal, political, and cultural identity. This is a collaborative event between the Manchester School of Art and Grumpy, whereby the participants were required to produce “wearable shelters� that serve as protective all-weather garments in the day and insulating dwellings at night.