In August 2024, Otto Resource and Copenhagen-based concept store Grocery unveiled their first-ever collaborative exhibition. Taking place in Grocery’s new activation space in Nørrebro, the exhibition focused on the possibilities (and necessity) of improved research, accessible tools, and community infrastructure across todays’s fashion landscape.

Among others, the exhibition references the work and philosophies of Austrian-born American designer and educator Victor Papanek. A proud advocate for the socially and ecologically responsible design of products, tools, and infrastructures, Papanek was also the originator of “Function Complex;” the theory from which the exhibition takes its name. Papanek argues that design is the conscious and intuitive effort to impose meaningful order and the “Function Complex” is a way to attain it. The system considers six functional requirements, visualised in a graph system: Method, Association, Aesthetics, Need, Telesis, and Use.

Given the continued relevancy of Papanek’s theory, Otto Resource and Grocery wanted to define a case that would see it applied to the sociological and ecological problems plaguing contemporary fashion. With its output having become increasingly definable in recent years, the exhibition aims to push beyond such assessments to revel in (and reveal) the beauty of process and deeper consideration.

A highly limited selection of pieces from the exhibition is now online for sale here and in our Store at Elmegade 21, 2200 Copenhagen N

dive deeper into the the full Function Complex research at the Otto Resource Digital platform through the link below or