DUNUSA: Life of a Garment

with the Forecast Group

The project focuses on deconstructing and upcycling second hand clothing sourced from Johannesburg second hand street market; Dunusa. A place where all the discarded garments originate as European exports. A mix method of experimental local artisanal crafts and indigenous influences native to South Africa are used to upcycle the garments, instilling our own cultural sensibilities into the Eurocentric way of dress.

The editorial prints and short film documentary accompanied by the garments highlight the stark disparity between the global north and south in which the upcycled and artisanal garments serve as a testament between opposing design ideologies. We make the garments as a form of protest and reflection of the western world's overconsumption habits that affect our landfills; solutions are created through nuanced constructed ideas of dress by promoting locality and African ways of dress showcased through print and film as an exhibition tool for the Forecast Forum in Berlin, Germany and the design world at large.