I love old clothes. For me, there is rarely a reason to throw them in the recycle until they literally fall off your body. Just before a piece of clothing reaches that point, it reaches its pinnacle of goodness. This is the time in its life when it is so well worn, so well loved and has served you so well that the thought of being without it is incomprehensible. Our clothes speak more about us than we often can talk about ourselves.

There is more to it though, the very concept of fast fashion abhors me. The wastefulness packaged in superficiality and vanity, that reeks of a culture obsessed with packaging and dismissive of content, is something I feel requires an antidote.

For years I’ve had the idea to frame certain articles of clothing when they reach the point of being so well worn that they are no longer wearable. The idea first came to me when I had to farewell a pair of cut off shorts that I travelled the world in. Those shorts saw more places than most people have the opportunity to dream of. I wanted them to stay with me forever. Unfortunately, I took them for repair one day in South Africa and the lovely person that was working the sewing machine took one look at them and said “Eish, my friend, these shorts are vrot (rotten)” as they were tossed into the rag heap.

Fast forward to a time in my life when I was photographing full time, and the local Patagonia store took me on as brand ambassador of sorts. They kitted me out with clothing which is still kicking-on over a decade later. This t-shirt was the first item they provided me. It meant a lot. It showed that my values of environmental consideration, photography and travel were aligned with theirs. I wore this t-shirt with pride.

Eventually my partner mentioned that it was probably time this t-shirt retired. My response was that it was “just starting to come right”. I love the holes, the stains, the frayed threads. I told her I was going to frame it—this was not met with the enthusiasm I was hoping for. So instead, I set about drawing this part of my life in as much detail as possible. The hours taken to capture its detail seemed a fitting salute to a loved, and very old shirt. The antithesis to fast fashion. The item of clothing now survives as an artwork (and quietly, so too does the t-shirt, subtlety tucked into the back of the wardrobe, waiting to be framed one day.)