Curator
human, future
late-Anthropocene
Zippicamiknicks
0002495 CE
London, England
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As laboratory human reproduction has emancipated our female fellows from the process of pregnancy and breeding, sex has, too, unprecedentedly emancipated from unfair stigmatization. When it becomes a common commodity, it is immediately accessible to all and will benefit all. This garment is a piece of convenient underwear for female sex-workers. With a full-length zip provides easy access to the body underneath, it enjoys great popularity among both the sex-workers and the customers. Compared with old-fashioned clothing that needed cumbersome and overwhelming procedures of donning and doffing, this new design largely fuels the efficiency of trading by saving time through simply zipping off and zipping on.
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MB 5683.12
Curator
Thomas (Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning)
0002495 CE (632 AF [After Ford])
mid-Anthropocene
Zippicamiknicks
0002495 CE
London, England
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Representative of our perfect utopian society, 600 years after his almighty holiness Our Ford graced this planet with his divine wisdom, zippicamiknicks are a spectacularly innovative development in female lingerie design. Gone are the days when we lived in darkness and relied on sexual intercourse for reproduction, where there was no control or conditioning on what was born, and savages ran wild, threatening the social stability on Ford’s Green Earth. To maintain this harmony, offspring are developed in laboratories, in our five-tiered caste system in which they are conditioned to be content within their assigned social roles. Devoid of the capability to love, our sterile beings maintain perfect happiness, and are free to experience sexual pleasure from anyone they meet. This wonderful device makes the process far more efficient. Constructed of cheap-to-produce synthetic materials (99% viscose, 1% elastane), the zippicamiknicks may be disposed of after a single use, making them a convenient choice for a woman’s wardrobe.
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MB 5683.12
Curator
John the Savage (outcast), 0002495 CE
mid-Anthropocene
Zippicamiknicks
0002495 CE
London, England
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Zippicamiknicks are a type of underwear worn outside the Reservation by metropolitan whores, such as Lenina Crowne. That impudent strumpet and the rest of the women in her society wear these garments for the practice of sin! Once a pale shell pink colour, this pair has been tainted and decayed by sinful activities and the renunciation of God! These are representative of a morally compromised society that I do not want to be a part of.
‘Zip! The rounded pinkness fell apart like a neatly divided apple. A wriggle of the arms, a lifting first of the right foot, then the left: the zippicamiknicks were lying lifeless and as though deflated on the floor.'
[Aldous Huxley, 1932. Brave New World]
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MB 5683.12
Curator
human, 0002035 CE
early-Anthropocene
Ladies' bathing suit
c. 0002040s
probably from the United States
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This female one-piece bathing suit features a full-length spiralling zip, for ease of removal when wet - similar to our contemporary wetsuits. The cheap, synthetic fabric it is constructed from, and the poor quality of machine sewing indicate that it was likely purchased from a fast-fashion retailer and thus produced in a sweatshop. Therefore, the garment carries environmental and ethical implications in its origins. For example, its fabric was likely produced from petrochemical resources, causing air pollution, and overseas production carries a large environmental footprint in its long-distance transportation. Judging from recent developments, it is very likely that in the production line of garments such as these, workers are underpaid, undertrained and suffer from poor working conditions. Interior padding, emphasising the breasts and hips indicate this artefact is probably from the near-future, due to its affinity with contemporary body trends that have been popularised by celebrity culture, most notably the Kardashian family. The display of this garment invites us to reflect upon our own fashion consumption and the supply chain that produces our clothing. It is our duty to question where our wardrobe comes from and make more conscious choices in the future.
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MB 5683.12
artist/creator
Katherine Beckwith