When you buy something at a second-hand store, do you ever wonder about its previous owner? Have you ever wanted to know more about the person who wore the dress, hat or coat that you are just about to add to your wardrobe?
A new project developed by the Berlin-based design agency Vogt & Weizenegger that recently premiered at the Biennale of Design in Saint Étienne (France) last December 2006 makes this possible. RELATIONCHIP is a garment exchange and a coded social network. “Clothes are very personal things. Clothes express people’s character—to exchange one’s garment with somebody else is a very personal act.”
The aim of the RELATIONCHIP-STATION was to establish a network among visitors to the biennale. Under the topic "RELATIONCHIP" the aim was to establish a new network between the visitors of the biennale. Visitors could exchange one of their garments for a prepared RFID-chip tagged garment from the station. The chip contains basic information about the previous owner, which can also be accessed via the Internet. The participant then enters the RELATIONCHIP network by leaving a statement and a photo at the station, which is then entered onto a chip for the next exchange.
Still in the experimental phase, the project will be presented again in Berlin’s premier design event, Designmai. Whether the idea will take off as a marketing concept remains to be seen, but the hope is that through taste and style those willing to participate will make some meaningful connections
