Xerox's Paradox

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Emblems of our age

 

Xerox's Paradox is a catwalk video showcasing next gen workwear for a workless world.

 

The idea was to create a range of utility clothing specially adapted to the new terrain

of the 21st century gig economy.

 

I'm always interested in new shapes in the world, and consider the 'Deliveroo',

with it's tortoise like cargo box to be an emblem of our age. It's the perfect reduction

of the human to it's basic function, that of filling in gaps that technology has not

yet managed to bridge.

The classic 'Golf Sale' advertising standard bearer, and, of course,

the drone, are other examples of this.

 

Over the years, designing digital clothing has crept into my work, and is now central to it.

I call it 'Interrogative Fashion', as a nod towards Krysztof Wodiczko's 'Interrogative Design'.

 

I like the idea of embodying an idea in a functional design. The cargosuit is a distillation

of this trend towards total utility. When we work 24/7, why do we need to distinguish work from leisurewear?

 

The title of the piece refers to the fact that, even though more and more labour is done

by robotics, automation, and AI, we still find ourselves working harder than ever.

Not in the sense of hard, manual labour, but the depletion of our time and mental resources.

This is technology's broken promise, and the basic paradox of automation.