Beyond the Bespoke: Agency and Hands of X

Beyond the Bespoke: Agency and Hands of XANDREW COOK GRAHAM PULLIN Our practice is disability focused, yet embraces culture and fashion as a challenge to narrower definitions of “function. ” Frances Corner writes, “Faster than anything else, what we wear tells the story of who we are — or who we want to be. It is the most immediate form of self-expression” (2014) . We believe that wearers or users of disability objects should have agency, allowing the opportunity to take control of the stories that these objects tell about who they are. We can also borrow a useful framework from fashion to help explore different approaches to design for one. Although the terms “bespoke” and “made-to-measure” are often used interchangeably, they are two fundamentally different models of service. A bespoke garment is entirely designed and made from scratch in consultation with the customer. Made-to-measure involves a standardized pattern and manufacturing...