Engaging or pushing out, 2021 

Cotton fabric, wool fabric, cotton thread, shoulder pads, fusing tape

140 x 55 x 120 cm

The right to be a top, 2021 

Cotton fabric, coated fabric, padded fabric, cotton thread, zipper

90 x 50 x 233 cm

The dressing room, 2021 

Cotton fabric, wool fabric, steel, velcro, cotton thread

110 x 110 x 190 cm

Storing pieces of stuff in legs, 2021 

Used stockings, cotton fabric, coated fabric, cotton thread

87 x 3 x 152 cm 

Repair collection: The shaking feet, 2021 

Lambs wool yarn, cotton yarn

11 x 2 x 72 cm 

Pairing in wearing, 2021 

Lambs wool yarn, cotton yarn

50 x 201 cm

Doing a handstand, 2021 

Cotton fabric, cotton thread

90 x 120 cm

The following question initiated Wear Wore Worn. 

‘Clothes’ generally exist as objects of the act of ‘wearing,’ made to express and deliver the complex history and motivations behind the wearer—the subject. What happens when the object becomes the subject? How will the form of clothes and the concept of wearing change, if ‘clothes’ were to wear the ‘wearer’? 

Seohee Kim meticulously tracks the impact of clothes witnessed in social relationships, exploring the act of ‘wearing’ by physically combining and integrating fragments of clothing that reflect the forms of the human body. Originally inspired by the Latin saying, “Vestis virum facit”, translated to “Clothes makes the man” in English, Kim wittily imagines the consequences of elevating ‘clothes’ as to being the subject of the act of ‘wearing.’

When worn, ‘clothes’ demonstrate two contrasting ideas at the same time. Acting as a method of ‘hiding’ and ‘showing’ simultaneously, clothing becomes a crucial and strategic factor in building any social relationship. Imagining a world where the roles of the subject (the ‘wearer’) and the object (the ‘clothing’) are reversed, Kim simplifies the concept of ‘clothing’ to its essence—as the decision-making process of what to ‘show’ and ‘hide,’ and the constant dilemma between the tendency to conform and the urge to express one’s uniqueness. Kim’s project is executed on the premise that the ways humans wear clothes and clothes wear humans, hold many more similarities than one would expect. Imagine a person wearing a jacket on top of a shirt. From an inverted perspective, clothes could become the subject that ‘wears’ multi-layers of wearers, which would be the object.

Meanwhile, the fitting room remains as an interesting concept it is a space designed for the act of ‘wearing.’ This isolated space—solely dedicated to ‘wearing’—adds a sense of holiness to the act. The dressing room (2021) inspired by the fitting room is a visualization of a virtual space—possibly inside a fitting room or as one itself—where clothes can wear a human being. Only those who are selectively ‘worn’ by the clothes or the room would be allowed to enter this space. Inside The dressing room (2021), visitors can discover a part of The skirt (2021), which is another work that explores the act of ‘wearing.’ 

The public is repeatedly exposed and accustomed to certain type or style of clothing that is desired by the market. Clothes that are mass-produced only upon a guaranteed level of demand through a set manufacturing process, inevitably cause the act of ‘wearing’ to become passive, leading the ‘wearer’ to accept this way of wearing as the social norm. Since the social agreement is almost always prioritized over individual expression in the process of communication, the ‘wearer’ naturally accepts the fact that this balance remains the same, even within the boundaries of non-verbal communication that uses clothes. Kim focuses on the characteristics of clothes as a method of non-verbal communication, deliberately analyzing the idea of ‘sociability’ defined by consumerism. The artist’s exploration provides visitors with the opportunity to voluntarily use their creativity in order to view clothing through an alternative framework. 

The ‘fragments of clothing that reflect the forms of the human body’ and individual parts such as sleeves, collars, zippers, and pockets, which have all been utilized in Kim’s practice, imply the widely accepted perception of ‘wearing’ in society, while simultaneously allowing visitors to experience clothes based on individual experiences and memories. In the process of wearing these different parts—which are laid out in unfamiliar structures—visitors are encouraged to choose between sociability and creativity, the passive and the active, and the object and the subject. Upon establishing a more independent idea on the act of ‘wearing,’ visitors can finally understand the alternative approach to fashion. This approach, activated on a personal level by every visitor, is recorded in the forms of various silhouettes which reveal the awkwardness of ‘wearing something as it is’ and demonstrate the attempts to break free from existing social expectations. Kim’s practice provides the ‘wearer’ with a tool that ignites creativity and inspires the ‘wearer’ to create a refreshing silhouette that ultimately expands the scope of fashion.  

Text: Seohee Kim
Edited by: Haeun Kim