Silence Shirt is the 17th collection from the Top 100 project and explores the contribution silent meditation and portraiture can make to developing relationships between inter-disciplinary partners in the design science EU project, www.trash2cashproject.eu . Building on previous collaborations that explore the multiple human aspects of textiles for the circular economy (Shanghai Shirts, Shavasana Shirts, School Shirts) this collection focuses on the relationships between material scientists and industry designers. Trash-2-Cash is a project with 18 partners from 10 countries; language and expertise levels can be barriers to successful outcomes. This experiment sought to create a baseline experience from which the first co-created piece could be made. 

“This has been the most difficult of all the shirts in my Top 100 project. The images were created through a silent meditation and portrait session between scientists and designers in the Trash-2-Cash project. I wanted to facilitate the making of a co-created garment for the project, to bring people from different backgrounds, cultures and disciplines together in to one focused task. I wanted to find a common ground for us all – and to give us a chance to connect in a less formal way. After we had made the portraits I found it difficult to make a unified design – the drawing styles differed so much. But the end result is a shirt that represents the effort required to make collaborative projects work – especially between designers and scientists – and I got the print design to work by extending the lines between portraits and literally linking people up.”