The Role of Media to Literacy Development in 5-10 Year Olds - Report Example

FASHION STUDIES How contemporary designers engage with new technologies in design, production or presentation of their practice Name Course Instructor 01 November 2012 Question 9: How contemporary designers engage with new technologies Introduction Fashion resonates differently to different people. People develop mental pictures of beauty, fancy, and classic, when they talk or come across the word fashion (Kawamura 2005). Fashion lacks specific definition, and in most instances it is used interchangeably with clothing (Kawamura 2005). Fashion coveys social meanings, therefore, making fashion a cultural concept. As a cultural concept, fashion is seen to constitute or manifests a lifestyle of particular groups of people, communities, or nations (Davis 1994). As a result, fashion can be adopted at any particular time period in history of any people, society, community, or nation, which can eventually change. In its basic terms, fashion is understood to be a form of style of clothing, wear, adorning, or dressing that facilitates social messages regarding specific and particular cultural values at any given time in a society (Bruzzi 2001). Given the characteristics that define fashion, it is clear from the numerous modern forms of fashion that technology has become part and parcel of fashion design. Today, there are fashionable wearables in the market that will make any one puzzled and surprised by the level of technology fashion industry has adopted. Therefore, the aim of this essay is to discuss how contemporary designers are able to interact with new technology by discussing renowned designer, Jennifer Darmour, and how she has used technology to develop new innovative modes of fashion. Theories of fashion change Fashion represents a sign, and activates forces of separation in terms of social identity, and cultural capital. In this manner, fashion is used to establish identity and separation. Fashion has at same normative power, where it has ability to set standards and establish homogeny. Fashion functions as an accumulated symbol of capital through clear consumption, where it continuously seek innovative means of remaining distinctive and attractive (Pundir 2007). Similarly, fashion has been found to manifest or express capitalism and mass production. The relationship between these two is that fashion and mass production function or relate to each other in a dialectic manner, where mass production has allowed fashion to have global or wide presence, defying social class barriers (Kim and Fiore 2011). Nevertheless, even when this is taking place, mass production cannot disassociate from fashion, where it depends on fashion in order to maintain the demand momentum. Furthermore, the settings that take place in fashion appear to be related to the elite groups in society as well as from those groups considered to be or characterised by a lack or loss of stability. To this point, evaluation of fashion history and its subsequent spread across societies indicate that fashion change can be explained or described in three theories. The three theories posit that fashion can take any of the three major forms of fashion change: trickle-down, trickle- up, or trickle-across different segments of consumers in society (Kim and Fiore 2011). The trickle-down theory postulates that fashion spread in society through the social structure paradigm. Here, fashion has ability to trickle-down from the affluent social classes to the less affluent social classes in society, although the trickle-down effect differs among the different social classes. The understanding is that those in upper classes in society have for a long time defined fashion and influenced fashion trends given their high access to material power in terms of income, freedom, and affluence (Pundir 2007). On the other hand, those in lower social classes lack material possession, a situation that make them to have less likelihood of influencing the fashion trend like those in upper classes. Therefore, those in lower classes become imitators of fashion. Therefore, trickle-down theory posits that fashion trickle from the elite class to the next adjacent class. On the other hand, the trickle-up theory of fashion change largely developed in the 1960s, in midst of high form of music, art, television variety shows, and movies that revolved around the youthful population (Pundir 2007). Against this new and emerging culture, a new theory of fashion was proposed, the status float phenomenon, whereby, it was established that higher status segments in society with more power copied or imitated those with lower status (Kim and Fiore 2011). In other words, status markers were floating up the status pyramid rather than trickling down or across. Trickle-up theory has a lot of relevance in modern world, where the importance of street fashion has increased and is today viewed as a laboratory for the change of fashion. At the same time, the concept possess the essence of outsider sensibility that fashion is associated with aspects like hanging out, dressing up, loosing attitude, which are manifested in aspects like clothes, hairstyles, makeup, tattoos, body piercing, and accessories. The last theory is the trickle-across mode, also known as vertical flow model (Pundir 2007). The theory combines critical aspects from the trickle-down and trickle-up models. The model looks at how demographic characteristics influence fashion change in society. The underlying assumption of the theory is that the fashion influence should trickle down from an older, affluent, and visible class. After this, the huge middle-class could lower the minimum age that influence the fashion change, a situation that later results in the direction of fashion change (Kim and Fiore 2011). This theory provides a clear and predictive path that establishes the source, mechanism, tempo, and direction of fashion change. Fashion and technology Every year the world is filled with news and stories about ‘Fashion Week’ in key cities of different countries around the world. It is common to hear about fashion shows in big cities like New York, London, or Milan. During these events, a keen observer will notice something; a key or changing trend in the fashion industry, or just say the world of clothing. During these fashion weeks and shows, more people or designers are coming up with high-tech fashion, which for many years has not been witnessed on the fashion platform or clothing industry. Many designers are using new and the latest technologies to design and produce clothes that can be termed to be cool and have unique and appalling features that no one would not expect or imagine can be found on a cloth (Pakhchyan 2008). Fashionable technology has become common in modern fashion industry, and it is a term that refers to the intersection of design, fashion, science, and technology (Seymour 2011). Fashionable technology has led to emergence of fashionable wearable, which are perceived to be forms of designed garments, accessories, or jewellery that integrates values of aesthetics and style with functional technology. Designers of fashionable wearable in modern world tend to view end users as being fashionable beings who are keen to have a form of style in their wearable. As a result, this attention or attitude towards fashionable wearable is informed by the fact that clothes that people wear have a powerful link to the environment and as a result they function as transmitter and receiver of emotions, experiences, and meaning (Seymour 2011). Technology is seen to facilitate the traditional function of fashion, social, psychological and physical. The understanding is that technology has become a medium through which clothing or what people wear has been enhanced and new ones defined. For example, the material purpose of clothe include protection, concealment, and attraction (Seymour 2011). Also, cultural, social, and psychological purpose of clothes includes communication, individualistic expression, social or economic status, political or religious attachment. Therefore, with introduction and infusion of technology into the modern clothing and fashion, fashionable wearable constitutes modes of fashion that can enhance the cognitive characteristics of individuals’ bodies. This is why today it is common to hear designers and fashion lovers to refer to clothing as the second skin (Seymour 2011). Quinn (2002) observes that modern fashion designers are unique creatures that exhibit high appetite for fashion technology. The author expresses that fashion designers in modern world do not just see or regard a dress as mere dress, but a dress to them is a wearable computer interface (Quinn 2002). The mission of these new fashion techies is to revolutionise the clothing industry through development and production of unique fashion clothes by integrating the most efficient and sophisticated technologies such as integrating software, communication devices, sensors and speech-recognition systems. These elements are designed in a cloth that has changed the entire concept of clothing and fashion. Furthermore, the new modes of fashion have been made in such way that they are internet enabled, a feature that give the wearer the opportunity to surf the internet, make telephone calls, store and retrieve computer files, monitor the wearer’s vital signs and administer medication without the wearer even noticing (Quinn 2002). All these may just appear to be scenes in a movie, but the reality of the matter is that technology has revolutionised the concept of fashion and clothing in modern world. The use of technology in modern fashion, or what is known as fashionable technology, is characterised by the aspect where designers are today incorporating numerous input of person and environment into technology that produce fashionable technologies. For example person-input elements that are reflected in fashionable technology include pressure, bend, biometric data, sound, visuals, humidity, acceleration, orientation, proximity, etc. (Seymour 2008). Also, environment-input elements include light, humidity, sound, temperature, smoke, micro-particles, and visual. All these elements have become the platform of fashionable technology rests on. Therefore, interaction between designers and technology in modern world in developing fashion can be said to incorporate aspects of textile sensors and embedded sensors, which are common forms of technology reflected in modern clothing (Seymour 2008). Textile sensors have seen the design of modern fashion clothing integrated with body-sensing technologies that have to be close to the skin in order to be effective. In this way, fiber sensors are the common ingredients of modern clothing and fashion, where clothing has ability to measure temperature, stress, biological aspects, and smell (Seymour 2008). Also, fiber sensors have made it possible for the body functioning system to be captured, where the sensors can detect blushing, sweating, variation in tension, and temperature. Besides, modern fashion designs reflect the use of convectional or embedded sensors that have ability to capture data. The sensors are integrated in fashion or garment in such way that they have ability to capture and measure necessary data. For example, the sensors collect data from the human body and also environmental aspects like light, humidity, temperature, sound, or smoke. The captured data is integrated and processed by enhanced technologies such as the microprocessor (Seymour 2008). How modern designers interact with technology Jennifer Darmour is one of the notable and famous modern day designers who have revolutionised the fashionable wearable industry through adoption of sophisticated technology. The designer is engaged in design and production of magnificent world fashion designs that integrate wearable technology (ElectricFox 2012). The love of this designer for technology is reflected in all of her designs, as evidenced from her high tech blog, ElectricFox. Jennifer is an iconic designer who has clearly shown how designers interact with technology in order to create fashions that remain stylish in many ways. The expertise of the designer in the use of wearable technology has enabled her to become an award-winning designer in many fashion contests that have endeavoured her to notable companies such as Microsoft Surface, Xbox, Windows Mobile, HTC, Panasonic, Google, Lenovo, etc., where she has won contracts to design fashionable wearable with fascinating technologies (ElectricFox 2012). Some of the classic examples of designs Jennifer has so far put in the market include move wearable, pulse wearable, modwells, ping modes, zip modes, run modes, and mix modes (). The move wearable constitutes garments that have been designed with a sophisticated technology in a manner that that give the wear optimal relaxation and precision when walking. These types of fashion are beautiful and many people in diverse fields such as sports, performers, singers, actors, etc., have embraced this form of fashionable wearable (ElectricFox 2012). The fashion is described to be soft that enable the wearer to experience relaxing physical performance, which helps reduce chances of incurring pain or any form of damage when moving. Jennifer is also known for her pulse wearable that has been designed in a manner that it is integrated with a mobile phone-like gadget that monitors the wearer’s heart rate and also helps the individual achieve maximum level of fitness (ElectricFox 2012). It is a form of a vest that an individual put on and once on the body, instead of an individual having to calculate the rate of heart beat during the working period, the pulse has ability to do that job. Therefore, apart from the comfort and beauty it provides to an individual, pulse has removed the burden of an individual having to calculate his or her heart beat rate. Modwells fashion models are also part of the Jennifer’s long chain of designs with sophisticated wearable technology. These wearable are perceived or designed to provide healthcare experience to the wearer. For instance, the integrated technology in these modes of fashion enables an individual experience physical and emotional health, and further enables the wearer to enhance his or her life quality (ElectricFox 2012). Modwells are customised designs that satisfy the unique and individual needs of individuals in a way that it gives a very thin line between the usual or traditional medical products and consumer products. Ping wearable fashion, which Jennifer has also designed, is described to be a social outfit clothes that enable an individual to engage in social interaction activities like face-booking, tweeting, or emailing while wearing them. The clothes enable the wearer to remain connected to software technologies. The clothes have in-built design mechanisms that enable an individual to use signs and gestures that eventually enable the wearer to communicate or interact with others on social media (ElectricFox 2012). People may be appalled and ask whether there is physical presence of software such as laptops. The answer is ‘No’, the garment only connects to software in their absence, and this enables the wearer to stay connected to social media regardless of the geographical location or presence. Apart from the above fashion modes, there is the amazing ‘Zip’, which is form of wearable fashion from Jennifer. Zip is a customised wearable technology that is integrated with music controls. Today, many people are likely to come across snowboard jackets that have in-built music controls, which allow the wearer to connect music player and control it using design in-built buttons integrated in the jacket (ElectricFox 2012). This kind of fashion technology is notably popular with youth generation, especially the hip-hop culture, where young people are likely to be seen in the streets putting on snowboard jackets and enjoying music. Furthermore, Jennifer has come up with athlete shoes that are integrated with a gaming system, enabling athletes to monitor and detect other athletes in different geographical locations without necessarily having to be present there. This enables the athletes to either practice with other athletes in other regions virtually. The shoe is further fitted with modified technologies that include website, cell phone application-elements, that enable the user to stay online and make calls frequently without being limited by geographical barriers (ElectricFox 2012). DJ Mix wearables have also become popular designs associated with Jennifer. The wearables have been designed largely for the youthful community interested or hooked to the entertainment sport. Apart from providing unmeasured entertainment experiences, DJ Mix wearables have health benefits that encourage the users to remain physically active through numerous exercises and experiences. The design of DJ Mix fashion is such that the garment has an in-built portable wireless music system that give the user opportunity to create music based on the moves the user is making as he or she walks (ElectricFox 2012). Therefore, the youth community using the wearable are not limited or constrained in creating customised music mix and dances at any time and place. Conclusion Fashion has remained dynamic; always changing when the opportunity and environment permit. As a result, the modern mode form of fashion has integrated technology, which can be evidenced in the way many designers are able to use technology to design, produce, or present their practice. Technology should not just be construed to be associated with only computers and communication devices, but there is need to understand that modern form of fashion is a reflection of high technology in use. For example, technological innovations in fashion can be seen in the way modern designers are able to use technologies such as digital textile printing, use of synthetic fibers, and use of formotion technology to produce clothes, use of fire-resistant and sweat-wicking garments, and the use of aerogel in garment production. Therefore, the essay has successful discussed how the modern designers interact with technology to create fascinating new modes of fashion in contemporary world. Reference List Bruzzi, S 2001, Fashion cultures: theories, explorations and analysis, London: Routledge. Davis, F 1994, Fashion, culture, and identity, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ElectricFox 2012, Electric Fox: Designs, Available at: < http://www.electricfoxy.com/work/> (Accessed 31 October 2012).). Kawamura, Y 2005, Fashion-ology: an introduction to fashion studies, Oxford: Berg. Kim, H and Fiore, AM 2011, Fashion trends: analysis and forecasting, Oxford: Berg. Pakhchyan, S 2008, Fashioning technology: a DIY Introduction to smart crafting, California: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Quinn, B 2002, Techno fashion, Oxford: Berg. Seymour, S 2008, Fashionable technology: the intersection of design, fashion, science, and technology, London: Springer. Seymour, S 2011, Functional aesthetics: visions in fashionable technology, London: Springer. Pundir, N 2007, Fashion technology: today and tomorrow, New Delhi: Mittal Publications. Read More

Similarly, fashion has been found to manifest or express capitalism and mass production. The relationship between these two is that fashion and mass production function or relate to each other in a dialectic manner, where mass production has allowed fashion to have global or wide presence, defying social class barriers (Kim and Fiore 2011). Nevertheless, even when this is taking place, mass production cannot disassociate from fashion, where it depends on fashion in order to maintain the demand momentum.

Furthermore, the settings that take place in fashion appear to be related to the elite groups in society as well as from those groups considered to be or characterised by a lack or loss of stability. To this point, evaluation of fashion history and its subsequent spread across societies indicate that fashion change can be explained or described in three theories. The three theories posit that fashion can take any of the three major forms of fashion change: trickle-down, trickle- up, or trickle-across different segments of consumers in society (Kim and Fiore 2011).

The trickle-down theory postulates that fashion spread in society through the social structure paradigm. Here, fashion has ability to trickle-down from the affluent social classes to the less affluent social classes in society, although the trickle-down effect differs among the different social classes. The understanding is that those in upper classes in society have for a long time defined fashion and influenced fashion trends given their high access to material power in terms of income, freedom, and affluence (Pundir 2007).

On the other hand, those in lower social classes lack material possession, a situation that make them to have less likelihood of influencing the fashion trend like those in upper classes. Therefore, those in lower classes become imitators of fashion. Therefore, trickle-down theory posits that fashion trickle from the elite class to the next adjacent class. On the other hand, the trickle-up theory of fashion change largely developed in the 1960s, in midst of high form of music, art, television variety shows, and movies that revolved around the youthful population (Pundir 2007).

Against this new and emerging culture, a new theory of fashion was proposed, the status float phenomenon, whereby, it was established that higher status segments in society with more power copied or imitated those with lower status (Kim and Fiore 2011). In other words, status markers were floating up the status pyramid rather than trickling down or across. Trickle-up theory has a lot of relevance in modern world, where the importance of street fashion has increased and is today viewed as a laboratory for the change of fashion.

At the same time, the concept possess the essence of outsider sensibility that fashion is associated with aspects like hanging out, dressing up, loosing attitude, which are manifested in aspects like clothes, hairstyles, makeup, tattoos, body piercing, and accessories. The last theory is the trickle-across mode, also known as vertical flow model (Pundir 2007). The theory combines critical aspects from the trickle-down and trickle-up models. The model looks at how demographic characteristics influence fashion change in society.

The underlying assumption of the theory is that the fashion influence should trickle down from an older, affluent, and visible class. After this, the huge middle-class could lower the minimum age that influence the fashion change, a situation that later results in the direction of fashion change (Kim and Fiore 2011). This theory provides a clear and predictive path that establishes the source, mechanism, tempo, and direction of fashion change. Fashion and technology Every year the world is filled with news and stories about ‘Fashion Week’ in key cities of different countries around the world.

It is common to hear about fashion shows in big cities like New York, London, or Milan. During these events, a keen observer will notice something; a key or changing trend in the fashion industry, or just say the world of clothing.

Read More