Polimoda Podcast

The Polimoda Library presents a curated selection of books, publications, and research materials to explore the key themes of the exhibition: blue, denim, workwear, subcultures, textile art, and photography. This collection, designed to spark curiosity and deeper understanding, offers visitors the chance to uncover unexpected connections between aesthetics, history, and innovation. The selected texts are available for on-site consultation, providing a valuable resource for enthusiasts, students, and creatives seeking inspiration.

Bleus de travail (2002–2003) explores vocational training environments as part of a broader collection of student portraits taken across several technical schools. The series is divided into subsets: student welders, boilermakers, industrial maintenance technicians, mechanics, agricultural mechanics, paper industry technicians, horticulturists, farmers, florists, roofers, carpenters, joiners, cabinetmakers, masons, plumbers, painters, stonemasons, bakers and pastry chefs, and finally butchers. It serves as a true catalog of workwear, photographed in training spaces. From attire to surroundings, everything is designed to protect inexperienced trainees as they learn their trade.

From the private archive of Roy Roger’s comes a selection of work garments that trace 150 years of denim history. Shades of blue, rips, stains, and signs of wear tell the stories of those who wore them, preserving narratives embedded in these lived-in pieces. From American miners’ overalls to railway workers’ trousers, from prison jackets to military parkas, they all share one common element: the identity of the person who wore them.

Like any other creative process, the production of cloth, and ikat in particular, creates a framework of limitations for the artist to work with. The yarns must be organized and handled to prepare them for weaving. Before dyeing, certain sections of the yarns are bound to resist the dye, creating patterns by preventing color absorption in those areas. When interwoven, the dyed and resisted sections become whole in the patterns that are revealed. These patterns reflect a deep understanding of ikat’s limitations as well as their creator’s ability to trick them into doing what they want.

In occasion of Pitti Uomo 107, Polimoda presents AN/ARCHIVE EVENT TWO: blue r/evolution, an unprecedented exhibition that transcends traditional fashion discourse and explores the evolution of blue, denim and its connection to work, identity, crisis, and revolution.