Paris Identity 1994-1996

As the name In-Formation suggests, references to information technology underpinned many of the garments. The clothes represented exchanges of information and the communication processes mediated by the newly-launched Internet. Executed in toile, some of the garments recalled the cocooning shapes of the Winter Rose collection, but were dyed in monochrome colours and hand painted. Ribbons traced their surfaces, intended to represent a communication infrastructure underpinned by microchips, circuit boards and data transfer drives. In-formation included a capsule collection entitled Paris Identity, which featured garments sewn from reconstituted shopping bags acquired at Rough Trade, Virgin MegaStore, Ed,  Monoprix and Picto, and plastic carrier bags from institutions such as the Museum Jeu de Paume, the Pompidou Centre and the French Ministry of Culture.  The plastic logos were reconfigured thematically and sewn onto the fabric be- fore the garment was assembled. Raincoats were made by sewing the plastic bags together and trimming them with overlock stitching, reconstituted T-shirts were made in the same method, with logos cut out of the clothing and sewn together with overlock stitches. Reviewing the collection for Scanorama magazine, Alex Duval Smith wrote: ‘In her Paris studio she turns plastic bags into works of art. And le tout Paris is very impressed.’ Presenting her work alongside collections from top fashion houses gave Myrvold insight into the norms and values up- held by many of the world’s leading brands. She realised that she was competing in an arena that chose to ignore ethical considerations: designers routinely bought fabrics associated with environmental pollution, produced clothing in third world sweatshops and exploited young models, designers and photographers.  ‘I knew that fashion was a tough business long before I started my own label’, Myrvold explained, ‘but I never realised that the industry lacked ethics. At the time, I was sad to see how the fashion industry refused to concern itself with issues that scream for attention in our time; no questions asked, no solutions offered, just sell and survive, by any means possible.’