The Unwearable Collection

Read the campaign story

Boehringer Ingelheim worked with Area 23 and artist Bart Hess on The Unwearable Collection, an awareness project about generalized pustular psoriasis. The One Club’s account describes four conceptual garments informed by patient experiences. Uncomfortable materials conveyed aspects such as physical pain and isolation. The collection appeared at an American Academy of Dermatology meeting, supported by films and a look book. FIT’s later project page dates Hess’s original collaboration to 2022.

The later FIT contribution explored uncertainty and expanded the collection. It belongs to the same campaign family rather than constituting another independent case. The documented output is an exhibition and communication platform. Neither its presence at a professional meeting nor creative recognition establishes better diagnosis, treatment or patient outcomes. Those would require separate evidence, with appropriate clinical methods and safeguards.

Editorial interpretation: fashion is usually presented as something a person elects to wear. The idea reverses that expectation to discuss an experience people do not choose. The material contradiction creates a question before the explanation supplies an answer. However, vividness carries a responsibility. A striking object can overshadow the people whose experiences informed it, and an audience may mistake a metaphor for a complete account of the condition. Interpretation must remain beside the object, not hidden in supporting paperwork.

Editorial interpretation: the professional setting matters because it can turn an unusual image into a conversation with people able to use the learning. A purely viral version might deliver spectacle without understanding. The transferable principle is to design the encounter around the audience’s next responsible action: listening more carefully, seeking reliable information or asking a better question. That is different from claiming that the audience now knows what another person’s illness feels like.

Specify what the metaphor cannot show

Before making an object, write down the experience it represents and the experiences it leaves out. Review that boundary with people who have relevant lived experience and with qualified specialists. Include plain-language interpretation and alternative formats for people who cannot or do not want to view intense imagery. A metaphor can open attention, but it should not replace factual education or turn a varied community into a single dramatic visual stereotype.

Give contributors control over exposure

Consent to an interview does not automatically cover exhibition, publicity or future reuse. Explain each intended use and provide meaningful choices about identification. Establish a review point before production becomes expensive enough to discourage changes. If a contributor dislikes the proposed representation, treat that feedback as information about the work rather than an obstacle to launch. The strongest creative premise is weakened when the process contradicts its stated respect for people.

Evaluate understanding instead of emotional intensity

Ask viewers to describe what they learned and what remains unclear. High emotional ratings can coexist with misconceptions. Compare a metaphor-led explanation against a straightforward educational version, checking comprehension immediately and later. For professional audiences, separate stated intentions from observed practice. Do not collect identifiable health histories merely to demonstrate engagement; an anonymous learning assessment will often answer the communications question with substantially less privacy risk.

A small test for another brief

For a low-risk service frustration, prototype a safe visual metaphor alongside a factual explanation, rather than imitate the hazardous materials or medical subject matter.

Compare correct explanation, remembered next steps and unintended interpretations with a text-only version. Treat emotional response as secondary evidence.

Stop if the representation causes avoidable distress, suggests a false medical claim or requires exposure participants did not authorise.

• Co-design the representation with affected adults and pay for their time.
• Prepare a plain-language alternative and label the object as a metaphor.
• Test comprehension with small groups and record misconceptions before any public display.