Hair Matter(s), Alix Bizet’s graduation project is a collection of garments made from human hair to explore the symbolism it has in society. Bizet collected hair from Afro-textured hair salons and worked with an expert felter to create a textile using the hair. The result is three jackets and three headpieces.
A graduate of the Department of Social Design, Bizet designed Hair Matter(s) as a means to research the social and cultural aspects of human hair.
"Although hair’s original state is characterized by richly diverse texture and colours, our idea of hair has been steadily standardized over the years by the cosmetics industry, media, and social conventions, making it akin to a uniform,” says Bizet.
Hair Matter(s) is a platform for understanding hair as a medium to talk about the diversity of individuals and an equality of all hair in society. Bizet believes that people have an aversion to hair, especially hair that isn’t standard, and she hopes her project is the first step in embracing diversity.
"Exploring hair's materiality and meaning through design is a good way to understand its diversity and taboos," Bizet says.
