1942

1942 is a denim garment collection designed, constructed, and documented by Dante Betsch for his undergraduate senior thesis exhibition at the University of Michigan. What began as an exploration of textile practices connected to Dante’s biracial identity evolved into a reflection on Japanese American politics during World War II. Using denim as the primary material, Dante connected Japanese and American craft traditions through iconic American workwear silhouettes and techniques including boro, wabi-sabi, kintsugi, rōketsuzome, and aizome. The garments were lined with DTG-printed photographs by Dorothea Lange documenting life in Japanese internment camps. Born and raised in New Mexico, Dante photographed the collection with biracial models on land near the Santa Fe internment camp, grounding the work in memory, identity, and place.

The final collection was later invited to be displayed at Harwood Art Center’s 2020 SURFACE solo exhibition.