Abstract
This exploratory paper looks into the relationship between people and the things they wear through the lenses of care and domestic labour. More specifically it addresses the practice of ironing and what it can offer to such relationships. The work collects data from wearers via deployed kits—containing a shirt and a diary—and a group discussion on the wearer-worn engagements. The results show that while little academic focus is given to domestic labour, ironing emerges as a practice that can share understanding of what lies behind the visuality of garments. It suggests that designers and researchers invest in further exploring the practice of ironing as a valuable space for design.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2019.027
Citation
Valle-Noronha, J.,and Valle-Noronha, M.(2019) Iron while Still Damp, in Mattelmäki, T., Mazé, R., Miettinen, S. (eds.), Nordes 2019: Who Cares?, 3 - 6 June, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2019.027
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Exploratory papers
Included in
Iron while Still Damp
This exploratory paper looks into the relationship between people and the things they wear through the lenses of care and domestic labour. More specifically it addresses the practice of ironing and what it can offer to such relationships. The work collects data from wearers via deployed kits—containing a shirt and a diary—and a group discussion on the wearer-worn engagements. The results show that while little academic focus is given to domestic labour, ironing emerges as a practice that can share understanding of what lies behind the visuality of garments. It suggests that designers and researchers invest in further exploring the practice of ironing as a valuable space for design.