POLITIX-Movember Worn To Be Heard Campaign
The Mo-Hair Suit, made from real moustache hair, was designed to spark conversations around men’s health. It was created in collaboration with Movember and menswear label POLITIX for their 2021 ‘Worn to be Heard’ campaign. Pamela Kleemann-Passi pioneered the material for the suit – the world’s first wearable fabric made from moustache hair – which was then expertly tailored into a POLITIX two-piece. It launched on Australian national TV on 12th November, when The Today Show’s Karl Stefanovic modelled the suit, while interviewing Kleemann-Passi.
In addition to her interest in hair, this project also held a very special significance for Kleemann-Passi. Movember 2021 marked 5 years since she had lost husband, the Congolese musician, Passi Jo, to prostate and colorectal cancer. Since then, her work has delved deeper into her personal experience of illness, exploring the alignment of creativity and medical science, often expressed through the use of human hair. “I find it fascinating how hair can go from something so normal and identity-defining when attached to the body, to something so intriguingly disquieting as soon as it’s removed or shed.”
So how did she manage to turn moustache hair into a wearable suit? “This was a really fantastic challenge for me,” says Kleemann-Passi, “because although I’d made two-dimensional garments from head hair before, I’d never worked with ‘mo-hair’. I knew I was going to need A LOT of it.” Once word spread, little packages filled with moustache clippings from men whose lives had been touched by mental health issues, suicide, testicular cancer and prostate cancer, plopped through her letterbox. Sustainable Salons, a resource recovery program that recycles and reuses 95% of what goes in the salon bin, sourced the rest of the hair from Barber Shops around Australia. “Eventually I received a very large cardboard box filled with hair” she says, “and I just thought ‘Wow, I want to get my hands in there and play!’”
Kleemann-Passi layered matching and contrasting shades of thick mo-hair clumps between panels of black POLITIX cotton and very fine black tulle, to keep it contained. In essence, it was a ‘mo-hair sandwich’! After experimenting with various stitching methods, landing on a small windowpane pattern – synonymous with POLITIX suits – she chose a blind hemming stitch, which up close, resembles a beating heart rate monitor.
The suit’s lining is printed with messages from the men who donated their facial hair, as well as Mo-Bros and Mo-Sisters who have been touched by men’s health issues. It also features a dedication from Kleemann-Passi herself. “I felt deeply connected to this project. Passi Jo loved a well-tailored, snappy suit and it made me think of his affinity with the sapeurs in his African homeland and Paris. And he often grew a short-lived but impressive bushy moustache! The Mo-Hair Suit is a unique creation and a fitting tribute to all the men who’ve lost their lives as a result of prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental illness. It is simply stunning and will kick-start conversations and keep them going long after Movember… as it should.”
Media Coverage
Pilastro, Eleonora 18 March 2022, “First ever suit made from moustache hair breaks fashion record”, Guinness World Records online: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2022/3/first-ever-suit-made-from-moustache-hair-breaks-fashion-record-695393
D’Marge, ‘Australian Fashion Designer Creates Most Hideous Suit Ever For A Very Good Cause’
Raising awareness in a hair-raising new way, 12 November 2021 by Max Langridge
https://www.dmarge.com/2021/11/politix-movember-moustache-hair-suit.html
Politix: ‘Worn To Be Heard’
politix.com.au/movember/
Ragtrader: ‘Forget the Meat Dress, Politix has created a suit made from moustache hair’, By Imogen Bailey 29 October 2021
ragtrader.com.au
Australian Men’s Health, ‘Politix Has Created A Suit Made From Moustache Hair, All For A Very Good Cause’, By MENS HEALTH STAFF | Nov 12, 2021
menshealth.com.au
Little Black Book Online, ‘Fashion Brand POLITIX and Movember Unveil the World’s First Suit Made Entirely of Moustaches’;Artist Pam Kleemann-Passi and Bullfrog create world’s first ‘Mo-Hair Suit’ to start conversations around men’s health
lbbonline.com
Little Black Book Online, ‘Behind the Work: The POLITIX Menswear Moustache Hair Suit’, Dan Sparkes, creative director at Bullfrog and Pam Kleemann-Passi, Melbourne based visual artist, spoke to LBB’s Zoe Antonov about the process behind creating a suit made entirely of human moustache hair
lbbonline.com
Bandt.com.au: POLITIX Launches World’s First ‘Mo-Hair Suit’ for Movember
bandt.com.au
Albawaba/The Node: ‘Would You Wear A Suit Made of Men’s Moustaches?’
albawaba.com
OddityCentral: ‘This is Probably the World’s First Ever Suit Made of Men’s Moustache Hair’, by Spooky, 18 November 2021,
odditycentral.com
Best Ads on TV: POLITIX: The Mo-hair Suit,
bestadsontv.com
Moustache-suit up! Australian designer creates world’s first suit out of facial hair, Light news
Twitter: twitter.com/MovemberAUS
Radio Interviews
Ubuntu Voices, 3CR, Presenter: Ajak Kwai, Melbourne, Vic, 17 November 2021
Life Matters, ABC Radio National, Presenter: Michael Mackenzie, 24 November 2021
abc.net.au/radionational
On The Record – ‘The Mo-Hair Suit: Politix X Movember Unveil The World’s First Suit Made Of Moustaches’, RTRfm, Presenter: Maddie Lombardi, Perth, WA, 25 November 2021
rtrfm.com.au
Television
Channel 9 Today Extra Show, ‘Karl wears moustache hair suit to raise Movember awareness’ | Today Show Australia ‘Worn To Be Heard Mo-Hair Suit Launch’, Presenter: Karl Stefanovic
youtube.com
Ruptly TV ‘Moustache-suit up! Australian designer creates world’s first suit out of facial hair’, Australia, Melbourne, 27 November 2021
ruptly.tv
NBC LX, aired 1 December 2021 (30 November 2021 US time)