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With a foundation in sociology and a deeply researched design ethos, Herderin is more than a fashion brand (in fact, they reject the term). The California-based studio explores the social and emotional functions of clothing, using regenerative fibers to make comfort-forward garments produced locally.
The Herderin team took the time to share their philosophy and human approach to clothing. Discover more about their innovative ideas, below.
Herderin started in 2018 in Oakland, California by Alexandria Vasquez, PhD, a sociologist who had been working with clothing design and theory since 2013. The initial three main primciples of Herderin were that the fiber sourcing was as local and natural as possible; that such fabrics were minimally intervened with design practices; and that the sizing and styles were size- and gender fluid. From the beginning, Herderin has been most inspired by approaches found in the work of chefs like Alice Waters and Marco Pierre-White, as opposed to anything found in the world of fashion. Our goal was to let nature speak for itself, and to take the designer out of the equation. Further, the inspiration for our design approach came from prior work in exploring empathic design principles in other fields of design. Using Temple Grandin’s work as inspiration, a connection emerged between Vasquez’s sociology and design backgrounds as a relevant application for considering the clothing design process: starting with the social and emotional needs of the wearer to extend use-cycle (longevity) of the garment itself by meeting those immaterial needs.
What we didn’t realize at the time was that the way Herderin’s designs were created and developed were also a main principle to our work. Beginning with the exploration of sensuality, Herderin discovered that when design is for the social- and emotional qualities of people, a values-driven aesthetic emerges that seeks to deepen the experience of clothing beyond it’s value as a fashion object of trend, and ultimate waste.
What Herderin seeks to continue developing is a de-fashioning approach to clothing design that deepens the human experience beyond visual feedback that’s embedded in cultural and social institutions that misguide the awareness of humanity’s natural sense of self. In doing this, we seek to decolonize fashion by creating clothing research and design approaches that bridge the gap between sustainability and cultural change.
In order to do this, Herderin’s mission is to create intersectional, artisinal knowledge that can be built upon for future generations in order to shift away from the dominant framework of fashion design education, where sociological- and psychological theories of the human history and lifelong relationship to clothing are absent. A major component to our practice is also working by hand in- stead of using computer software. We believe that clothing is too sensual of an object to make uniform and scalable. Instead, we seek to make clothing personal. Every garment is single-tailor made, as we believe that each piece should feel like a gift more than a factory-made object.
Today, we consider Herderin an auto-ethnographical research and design studio, and we strongly oppose the titles of “brand” and “fashion designers.” Though we are principled in our ethos, we never want to be dogmatic. Flexibility matters, and so does staying open to change and discovery.
The Herderin studio is located in San Rafael, California as of 2020.
