Presented as a neutral and timeless garment, the button-down quietly functions as a powerful social code. It signals cleanliness, discipline, professionalism, and respectability while subtly reinforcing broader systems of class, labor, and conformity. Its apparent universality conceals the cultural and historical values embedded within its design.


Secondhand white button down shirts, plastic buttons

Photos: Lian Benoit

This work marks the beginning of an ongoing investigation into everyday objects whose familiarity renders them almost invisible. By isolating and reinterpreting the button-down shirt, the piece reveals how design shapes behavior and identity, inviting viewers to reconsider an object that has long been accepted as self-evident.