A Dutch artist who goes by the name of Sander Reijgers has taken ethical fashion to the extreme by creating a series of coats and tracksuits made from recycled sex dolls.
Some of the pieces feature a patchwork of body parts taken from the dolls (and no, the rude bits are not tastefully discarded, they mostly take prime position) and other hooded garments feature the full face of the doll on the back of the hood, creating a rather freakish Lord Voldemort effect.
This all came about after Reijgers received fifty blow-up dolls from a 'sponsor' (the mind boggles) and set about trying to turn something which was essentially quite ugly into a beautiful, functional object which has a place in the realms of the everyday, as opposed to just being used for the most private and degrading of activities. He states: "I remove the sexual function of the dolls by turning them into a jacket or a bag. In this way, the doll can 'feel' by performing a normal day-to-day task, rather than through sex."
This inspiration came after he read 'The Malady Of Death' by Marguerite Duras in which the main character is incapable of feelings for people, and turns to prostitutes to try and stimulate his emotions. Reijgers also wanted to comment and poke fun at the fact that we are constantly bombarded by images of the unclothed female form to prompt consumerism.
It would seem that Reijgers has no personal attachment to the dolls he hacks up. He states "It's near-incomprehensible that people could have sex with something as ugly and lifeless as a blow-up doll. However much air you pump into it, it remains an object that can't reciprocate the feelings of lust."
Reijgers, who is based in Utrecht has also created a series of football-like patchwork balls made from hexagonal pieces cut from the dolls which go by the name of 'Sexball' or 'Titball'. These were exhibited in a show called 'Gluttony' back in November.
Believe it or not, these macs have gone down a storm in the realms of avant garde fashion and the sales have been booming. "People aren't afraid to wear my jackets because my work isn't coarse or vulgar," states Reijgers. "My work isn't about shocking people or about sex for the sake of sex. To me, sex is a means to make aesthetic, funny and multi-layered pieces."
Something tells me that we're not likely to see dozens of these the next time we're down Asda, but it makes a refreshing change from Peter Storm.
By Jessica Hazel freelance writer and creative blogger
