WIP: uniform

01.01.2026 - NOW

For one year, from January 1 to December 31, 2026, I am wearing a uniform of my own design. Starting from a basic jumpsuit with no pockets, no collar and the simplest possible button closure, I am refining the design month by month until I arrive at what feels like the ideal uniform.

Three rules govern the process:
- one year in uniform
- a maximum of one alteration per month
- one fabric.

Since becoming a mother, I found myself reaching for the same jeans and t-shirts every day. Dressing up no longer felt right, but I couldn't quite articulate why. Rather than solving a wardrobe problem, I decided to turn the question into a research project: what would it mean to stop choosing what to wear? And what does that reveal about identity, image and the role clothing plays in how we present ourselves to the world?

Alongside this personal experiment I am conducting broader semiotic research into what uniforms communicate about collectivity, status, conformity, social norms and individual freedom.

This page will be updated regularly as the project unfolds

Fig. 1: Bleu de Travail, the colour of the working class. (100% sustainable cotton)

Fig. 3: TUTA pattern instructions by THAYAHT.

Fig. 4: Toile of uniform #01 - based on the TUTA.

Fig 5: Excerpt from book Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson Ford

Fig 2: the TUTA by Italian artist THAYAHT (1921). THAYAHT published the pattern with instructions in a newspaper so that anyone could make it at home. Cut from a single square of cloth, making it affordable and accessible. It is believed to be the first open-source pattern ever made.

Fig. 6: 01.01.2026 - Day 1 - wearing uniform #01

Fig 7: Excerpt from book Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History by Richard Thompson Ford

Fig. 8: The uniform covers many subjects like image, identity, branding, status, hierarchy, protest, dress codes, individuality versus collectivity, freedom versus limitation.

Fig. 9: The studio

Fig. 10: Day 43 - wearing uniform #01 whilst making uniform #02

Fig. 11: Excerpt from book What Artists Wear by Charlie Porter

Fig. 12: Day 87 - wearing uniform #02 at Paleis Het Loo

Fig. 13: Day 95 - having breakfast in uniform #03

Uniform #01

Uniform #02

Uniform #03

Uniform #...

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