Vexed Generation

After attending last weeks research lecture where we learned about design influenced by social atmosphere. After the lesson we were told to research a designer who produces socially responsive clothing (which I’ll talk about in my next post). However, after researching socially responsive design in a number of books it became apparent that while there were a lot of individual products addressing individual social need there were few designers/ companies that made it their core motive. The one that did and came up repeatedly was ‘Vexed Generation’, a company co-founded by my lecturer Joe Hunter (partner of Adam Thorpe). As we received information about the companies aims and key issues that motivated their products I thought I’de write a bit about the socially responsive designs of vexed generation.

In the early 1990’s when Americana was still a big look over here Vexed Generation decided they were more concerned with issues people in Britain faced. As the company was based in London an issue they decided to tackle was the issue of air pollution. They did this by making ‘Vexed Ninja’, a jacket with a collar which could be zipped up to cover the mouth and nose. Inside the collar was a fabric able to filter out pollutant particles in the air. Although the collar was designed to work as a filter it also partially concealed the wearers identity, a theme Vexed Generation went on to explore. The 1990’s was a time in which the government spent billions on surveillance systems so Vexed created a number of garments intended to raise the issue of identity protection and surveillance as a means of social control. Whilst, at the same time, giving the customer back some power to protect their bodies and their identities. Around this time there was also a lot of political unrest with the poll tax reforms sparking riots and demonstrations. The British criminal justice act was changed and was putting civil liberties, like the right to assemble in large groups and protest, under threat. Vexed generation confronted the issue with identity concealing garments made from technologized textiles such as corwool (a cordura wool blend), phase change materials like outlast along with ballistic Nylon and Kevlar for extreme protection. This use of materials which weren’t being used for fashion garments at the time gave their clothes a unique look which was picked up by other fashion retailers who started to offer clothing with a similar aesthetic, however, they did not offer the same level protection. Vexed Generations clothing is arguably the ultimate combination of protection. The design help to conceal and protect the wearer’s identity the use of fabrics protects from not only weather and climatic conditions but also from abrasion and impacts. But perhaps most importantly, they offer psychological protection by the concealment of the face and also when confronted by police in riot gear the use of design and technologized fabrics goes some way in restoring the power balance. Vexed Generation clothing allows the wearer to be involved, get active and obtain first hand information whilst retaining a degree of safety and anonymity.