Wardrobe Swap is a project where I investigate the relationship between clothing, identity, and social perception. After wearing only Lycra jumpsuits for over four years, the garment lost its disruptive effect and became habitual. It no longer provoked interaction or heightened awareness, but instead became a kind of everyday skin.

To understand its impact, I set out to exchange my entire wardrobe with someone else. The search itself revealed how deeply people are connected to their clothes—many declined, citing work, relationships, and identity as reasons they couldn’t let go. These responses highlighted that clothing is not just functional, but bound to memory, emotion, and the roles we perform for others.

Eventually, I swapped wardrobes with a stranger. Wearing his clothes, I shifted from a highly visible identity into one that blended in—what I came to understand as “normcore.” This transformation changed how others engaged with me and how I perceived myself. Without the jumpsuit, I was no longer the subject of curiosity, but part of the background.

Wardrobe Swap explores how clothing operates as an extension of self, shaping behaviour, confidence, and social interaction. By exchanging wardrobes, I question how identity is constructed through dress and how much of who we are is formed in relation to others.

Wardrobe Swap explores clothing, identity, and perception.

For over four years, I wore only Lycra jumpsuits. What began as disruptive gradually became ordinary—more like a second skin than a statement. Curious about this shift, I set out to exchange my entire wardrobe with someone else. Many people declined, often because their clothes felt too tied to their work, relationships, or sense of self, revealing how personal clothing can be.

I eventually swapped wardrobes with a stranger. Wearing his clothes, I moved from standing out to blending in. The change affected both how others saw me and how I saw myself, highlighting how identity is shaped through dress.