The Joy of Old Clothes

In 2014, Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton released “Women in Clothes,” a book that considers, as they put it, “the questions we ask ourselves while getting dressed.” They interviewed more than 600 women about their wardrobes and tastes, but the project began with a survey. One question asked simply: “What is dressing about, for you?”

How does one answer such a thing in lockdown?

When contacted, Ms. Shapton, an artist, said that, like many others, she was re-evaluating her relationship with clothes thanks to the pandemic. Since moving with her young daughter in July, she has been tearing up her old garments and using their fabrics to make rugs, inspired by the knotted Japanese nuno zori slippers that have become her house shoes of choice.

“Instead of my unworn beloved clothes, I have a 40-pound knotted rug of them,” she said.

Ms. Shapton’s project includes garments by Rachel Comey, Stella McCartney, Hermès, Prada, Petit Bateau, Oscar de la Renta and Dries Van Noten, among others. It was created entirely by hand (Ms. Shapton couldn’t figure out to how to use a rug hoop; “the ripping up was cathartic,” she said) in front of reruns of “The Simpsons” and various children’s movies. To her, the process recalls “Break Down,” by Michael Landy, an artwork that involved the destruction of every one of his 7,227 possessions over a two-week period. “ I think about it an awful lot, because of my own preoccupation with objects and meaning, and it’s always in the back of my mind when I’m tearing up clothes,” Ms. Shapton said.