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PIA MATER
PIA MATER · Independent dispensary

The world is loud. We make things for that.

Clothes and accessories for the small, unnecessary discomforts of ordinary life.

Examine current dispensingNº 0 · THE SALLET. · Requests open until 15 OCT, 12:00 GMTAbout the institution
The Sallet worn in profile in a supermarket aisle, the symbol patch on its side. Face out of frame.
Fig. 01 · The Sallet., worn
02 · Case notes

The presenting complaint.

  1. 01

    Lighting that appears designed to interrogate.

    Most supermarkets are lit as though a confession is expected somewhere near the frozen peas.

  2. 02

    Conventions that require prolonged eye contact.

    Everyone agrees it is polite. Nobody has been observed enjoying it.

  3. 03

    Rooms that are loud, bright and full at once.

    This is described as atmosphere, and the visitor is expected to be grateful for it.

  4. 04

    Clothing designed to be looked at.

    By people who did not, as a rule, have to wear it.

An engraved anatomical plate of the human eye, its lids and muscles
The eye · plate, 1800s1Abraham Rees · Fig. No. G342

You are expected to tolerate all of this quietly. Mentioning it is considered more disruptive than the lighting.

The nervous system has been asked to adapt for several centuries. We thought we might ask the buildings.

1The eye has not changed much since the plate was engraved. The ceilings have.

03 · The institution

We have examined the situation.

PIA MATER observes ordinary discomfort, investigates whatever is causing it, and then makes something to wear.

We do not dispense advice. Each piece is a fashion object designed around a particular experience, and the materials and measurements are chosen on the wearer's side.

We take these needs seriously, even when the building does not.

A cilice of coarse woven hair, laid flat in a museum case on blue cloth, marked with red wax seals.
Cilice · hair shirt, St Aspais, MelunWorn against the skin so that it would be felt.
Close-up of THE CILICE: grey knit with the symbol patch sewn flat, a neon yellow-green knit band out of focus in front.
The Cilice. · 2026 · in preparationMerino, cashmere, silk. Contains no acrylic. Made so that it would not be.
04 · Current dispensing
The Sallet from the front, on its own
Fig. 02 · Front, on the plate
Dispensing Nº 0TRIAL BATCH

THE SALLET.

A 7cm brim between you and the strip lights.

An unstructured cotton chino cap. The brim takes roughly 40 degrees off the top of your field of vision, which is where most buildings keep their lighting and most people keep their attention.

Material
Cotton chino
Brim
7 cm
Colour
Bone · one size
Made
3 specimens
€105Tracked EU delivery included
Requests openRequests close 15 October 2026, 12:00 GMT. Names are then drawn by chance.
Examine current dispensing
05 · Procedure

Procedure for acquisition.

Requesting is free. You only pay if your name is drawn and you decide you want it.

  1. 01
    Examine

    Read the dispensing page: what the piece is for, what it is made of, and how it is made.

    Takes a few minutes
  2. 02
    Request

    Enter your email on that page. This is not an agreement to buy.

    Free · requests close 15 OCT, 12:00 GMT
  3. 03
    Receive

    When requests close, names are drawn by chance. If yours is drawn, we email a private link to buy, or you may decline.

    Pay €105 only if drawn · EU delivery
06 · Intended effect
The Sallet worn from behind in a waiting room, the symbol patch on its side.

One less unnecessary thing to endure.

Most objects ask the wearer to accommodate them. Ours are made the other way round.

Nothing here treats anything. A cap is a cap. A good one can make a bright room a little easier to stand in.

Wearer remains visible. This is not the point.

07 · Archives

From the archives

All leaflets
  • A volvella of the moon: a paper disc with a moveable wheel for calculating the position of the sun and moon in the zodiac.
    Leaflet · Volvelle, 1306

    The Volvelle.

    A paper wheel for consulting. One of the earliest known appears in Ramon Llull's Ars Generalis. Ours turns to one outfit: top, bottom, shoe.

    ‘Volvella’ of the moon, with moveable device for calculating the position of the sun and moon in the zodiac. Gutun Owain · National Library of Wales · CC0

    Read the leaflet
  • Title card reading Pure torture.
    Research video

    Pure torture.

    A sallet was a helmet with a brim long enough to shield the eyes, worn from roughly 1450. Ours is a cotton cap. About 40 degrees less ceiling.

    Watch the investigation
08 · Requests open

The dispensary is open.

THE SALLET.

Less ceiling. Same you.

€105 · Requests open until 15 OCT, 12:00 GMT
Examine current dispensing