55 Kilogramm Prêt-à-Porter
Idea and realization by Henrik Spohler & Andreas Herzau
In the rich industrial nations of the world millions of tons of second-hand clothes are donated – 600,000 tons every year in Germany alone. The clothes are then sorted and compressed to form bales before being sold in almost every country round the world.
One kilogram costs between 30 cents and 5 euros, depending on the type of clothing. A bale typically weighs 55 kilograms. This is the size and weight that an average African can carry on his or her head.
In many parts of Africa the donated clothes are referred to as the „clothes of the dead white man“, because no one can explain why these clothes are being given away.
Cryptic codes like CAP, ASM and NYR help dealers all over the world to tell straight away what‘s hidden in these „surprise parcels“.
We have deciphered these codes for you and photographed the nicest parcels that contain the new summer fashions for Africa.