Countersurveillance Aesthetic: The Role of Fashion in the Reappropriation of Identity

Abstract

There is an ongoing issue of living in a hyper surveilled world where our data and information are being shared and stored beyond our reach and understanding. This process ends in a general unpleasant feeling of insecurity and loss of our proper identity, but luckily this issue is being addressed, and not just by researchers and engineers, but by designers and artists which are creating clothes and garments that will allow us to regain our own identity. In particular, the field of speculative design is the one embracing all of these projects and the aim of this presentation is, through a series of case studies, to display the swift from speculative design and artistic practice to a form of political resistance. For example, the artistic approach of Adam Harvey or Zach Blas aims at highlighting the potential of textiles, masks and jewellery to hide our precious and unique biometric data. Although the description of “post apocalyptic designs” might seem catastrophic, it is quite the opposite. There is a growing community of people rediscovering solutions and proposing them, envisioning a collective resistance where these forms of fashion will protect both the planet and our identity. In this sense, fashion, expressed through collective actions and social movements, will bring forward the need to introduce better regulation of the usage of data.