IN VACUUM
Barbara Stallone
EX FIGURA is at its core a multidisciplinary studio that operates with different forms of art. Combining the knowledge and experience of people working with art, architecture, design and others, the goal of every project is to create a strategy that, taking advantage of the site, can put forward an experience that is meaningful towards anyone that uses it. After designing and building
multiple spaces and objects in different parts of the world, the studio always sees it as fundamental to collaborate with various people from many backgrounds in every new endeavor.
EX FIGURA initiated this installation to address the hidden costs of fashion consumption by transforming discarded clothes into architectural space. With textile waste piling up globally, we asked: Can garments find new life beyond closets - becoming both structure and symbol?
The project materializes this question through a large-scale, immersive installation. The result is a tactile, human-sized pavilion inviting visitors to enter, pause, and reflect. This is not merely a space to observe but a space to inhabit - blurring the lines between fashion, architecture and social commentary.
Development involved sourcing second-hand clothes from donation centers and surplus waste streams. The design process focused on modularity and reversibility: the clothes are not altered or destroyed but layered and draped, allowing them to be redistributed afterward to people in need. By doing so, the project creates a temporary circular economy, where waste becomes space, and space becomes care.
The installation’s most successful aspects are its emotional resonance and accessibility. Visitors experience garments not as commodities but as material memory - feeling the textures of lives lived, wrapped around public space. The work offers an alternative to spectacle-driven pavilions by fostering reflection on material overconsumption while directly contributing to social good.
Its impact lies in making visible the potential of discarded materials to shape our environments meaningfully. It also activates conversations about redistribution, shared resources, and responsible design.
Looking forward, EX FIGURA envisions evolving this concept into a traveling pavilion series. Each iteration could adapt to local textile waste streams, creating site-specific dialogues on consumption, shelter, and giving back, continuing to explore the life of materials beyond their original use.