Germ Capitalism (2018)
IMMEDIATE Fashion School's Portland Summer 2018 members collaborated on a dressing experiment inspired by Gabriel Tarde's idea of germ capital - a type of exchange between people involving "imitative rays". Each morning the members would get dressed specifically by imitating the clothing, silhouettes, colors, make-up, hair styles, accessories, adornments, performativities and/or other stylings present at the previous meetings. The individuality of each member inevitably appeared with each iteration and thus we found potential to "deviate into invention." In addition to the emergence of previously unconsidered assemblages of style, this playful experiment in temporary capital led to an unique experience amongst the members.
quotes from, and for more on Tarde's idea of germ capital:
The Fashion Praxis Collective, The Fashion Condition (SelfPassage, 2014), 38-41.