Google Arts & Culture has announced that it has created a new program called “We Wear Culture” meant to examine the cultural significance and history behind the clothes that we wear every day. The program consists of a number of videos, many of them VR-enabled, as well as photos and stories seeking to examine iconic trends, designs, and specific items of clothing. The centerpiece is an interactive, curated collection of different fashion items from various parts of the globe and historical periods. The series pulls stories of clothing and designers from all over the world and throughout history across three millennia to present a comprehensive framework of different cultural movements and historical moments, embodied in the clothing that was either involved or produced as a result.
Google has banded together with over 180 fashion organizations from all over the world, including worldwide fashion hubs like Tokyo and New York City, where innovation happens daily. Users who check out the series will see stories involving iconic designers like Coco Chanel, who created the black dress that normalized women wearing black, and Vivienne Westwood, whose designs helped to define the fashion of the punk rock scene that emerged from England in the 1970s. Stories about the origin or purpose of specific pieces of clothing, such as how denim jeans came into popularity, are featured in over 450 virtual exhibits, along with other topics like background information on prominent designers.
The program includes around 30,000 pieces of clothing from throughout history, which users can look at individually, search through, and even sort by criteria such as item type, time period, and color. The videos showing off the history of individual pieces of clothing, such as hoodies and jeans, star prominent YouTuber Ingrid Nilsen, who does things like show off the clothing being talked about, and narrate the history of the clothing. Those interested in seeing the collection and videos can do so through the Google Arts & Culture mobile app or desktop website, or by simply watching the videos on YouTube. Google has encouraged people to talk about the program on social media with the hashtag #WeWearCulture.
