KaLEidoScope

K

Fashion is like a perfor-

aleido-

mance art with garments. They are

scope

is

all clothing and accessories, but

known

as

we can notice flamboyant and dy-

a

in

namic patterns, shapes, and styles

most of our

in seasonal presentation. While the

childhood.

models walk on the catwalk, we

The

cylin-

can see how the whole collection

der looks simple; however, when

looks like, and we also see individ-

we pip into the hole, we will see

ual garment changes in detail in

unpredictable

mesmerizing

the collection. Wearing or not is not

patterns changing and reforming.

the purpose anymore; the presen-

However, kaleidoscope was creat-

tation is visional and alluring like a

ed not for being a toy but for sci-

kaleidoscope tracking our eyes.

entific reason, and we know that

Also, designers create the beauty

there is logic and science behind

from new and inventive techniques

the beauty. The changing in Kalei-

and concepts like how the scien-

doscope looks random but indeed

tist creates the kaleidoscope. Fur-

is with consideration. Besides the

thermore, is fashion changed and

patterns and scientific purpose, we

created frankly? Obvious, fashion

should think the kaleidoscope in a

has a strong WWconnection with

broader vision and bigger value.

the society. Fashion certainly rep-

resents how the society behaves.

and

toy

This tool is a small model

presenting a concept of the na-

ture. The mirror structure in the tube

kaleidoscope transforming all the

create multiple reflection, and this

time. Kaleidoscope conceptually

is the reason creates different pat-

depicts the changing of the soci-

terns. One unified object can cre-

ety; the happenings in the world

ate different patterns. The mirror

break down at some point, reform

reflection breaks down the original

in a new form, and sometimes in-

form and reconstructs into new

tertwine together. It goes back

patterns. Kaleidoscope can make

and forth like a cycle. Fashion is a

the random assembled abstract

straightforward way to observe the

combination become systematic

social value. Mostly, the attire rep-

patterns, and it also can turn the

resents the style and status, and

literal objects to abstract patterns.

clothing is directly showing and

It also depicts an idea that most

shaping our characteristics. Also,

things in this world have not only

fashion means current happening,

one view; each object can be

what celebrities wear is influential.

presented in multiple aspects with

The world is manipulated and op-

amazing details. So, kaleidoscope

erated by humanity, which also

is symbolically showing the natural

makes art and fashion change. Ap-

operation in the world.

parently, there is cohesive relation-

ship between humanity, society,

The world indeed is a huge

and fashion.

Mystery of Rotating and Mirroring Written by Wei Tung Yeh

Kalos eidos skopeo Kaleidoscope: a toy consisting of a tube containing mirrors and pieces of coloured glass, whose reflections produce changing patterns when the tube is rotated

light mirror

movement

creativity

Geometric patterns are non-

representational patterns that

not use a formal arrangement

have been arranged into an

at all for their designs, but still

ordered or regular repeat.

manage to attain a geomet-

Some of these designs have

ric look. Digital techniques

an entirely mathematical basis

are particularly successful in

and almost all have an under-

constructing regular patterns,

lying invisible geometric grid

which are then digitally print-

upon which the patterns are

ed or screen-printed. Texture

constructed. Several of the de-

serves to soften the rigid out-

signs have a regular structure,

lines of geometric designs

which the artists then deliber-

especially when a soft fabric

ately interrupt to achieve an

such as felt is manipulated into

asymmetrical balance to

a design or when plastic are

their patterns.

incorporated into a weave.

A few of the artists do

Counterchange (neg-

ative-positive) is plied to designs in which the shape and/ or color change positions. It is essential for the designer to consider not only the positive forms, and how they relate to each other, but the negative areas that remain. This system is an effective way of extending the repeat size, creating optical effects and changing the emphasis of a motif, whilst maintaining forms of exactly the same proportion.

Nicola Formichetti Concept Store 80 Walker St. New York, NY10013 USA

Fashion’s great seduc- al tion

is

its

phenomena.

Holland-

mutability . er’s argument especially

Through the artifice of ap-

presupposes that cultural-

parel, the less than perfect

ly bound aesthetic biases

can camouflage perceived

override the more specific

deficiencies and in some in-

conditions of artistic ability

stances project an appeal

and intentions, or the artist’s

beyond those gifted with

idiosyncratic predilections.

characteristics

accepted

Art often depicted the nude

as ideal in their culture and

with the invisible impress of

time. However, while fash-

apparel, but the advent of

ion is commonly thought

photography muted the ef-

to be driven by a constant

fect of a contemporary ide-

cycle of aspiration and ob-

al of the dressed form on the

solescence, the ideal un-

naked body. The disjunction

clothed body paradoxical-

between a representation

ly is believed to conform

of the clothed and fashion-

to some unchanging and

able beauty and the naked

universal standard. In fact,

artist’s model, or demi-mon-

an examination of the nude

daine, was emphasized fur-

in art reveals a constant if

ther by the use of retouch-

sometimes subtle shift in the

ing on the clothed figure

ideal of physical beauty.

to make the desirable attri-

butes of beauty more clear-

In art historian Ken-

neth Clark’s definition, the

ly apparent.

nude is the naked body

clothed in culture. In sculp-

laxation of rules of appro-

ture painting, it can be

priate body exposure, a uni-

seen to manifest certain

versal standard of beauty

meanings and ideals as ex-

became increasingly prob-

plicitly as the body clothed.

lematic, no matter how in-

Costume

historian

Anne

clusive it was relation to the

Hollander

argues

persua-

past, the refuge of wearing

sively that the nude is even

foundation garments to re-

more directly expressive of

form the body was obso-

its time than Clark propos-

lete, and the grWWeater

es. Hollander sets forth the

tyranny emerges of an idea

premise has been shed; the

of beauty with the impossi-

nude body has been cast in

bility of recourse to artifice.

its mold.

its simplicity: fashion as ex-

treme sport.

WBoth Clark and Hol-

lander perceive the body as evidence of pan-cultur-

With the cultural re-

of

a co evol that translate forms

fr

A Piece Cloth� is

onstantly lving concept will into different

rom this epoch to the next.

FA S HIO N

IS

A

ME D IU M

TRANS FORM I N G

W I T H

T

THE

DEIS GNER ’ S

EY E S

image: Self Service Magazine

THE POWER OF TION HAS FUEL OF CLOTH THR THE HISTORY.

F IMAGINALED A PIECE ROUGHOUT

CLOTHING FOR THE FUTURE CAPTURED BY IMAGINATION AND TECHNOLOGY ISSEY MIYAKE

A

fter handing over the design of the Issey Miyake label to my protégé in the year 2000, I took off on an adventure. The voyage we have undertaken is to a planet we have named A-POC. My companions and partners on this journey are Kai Fujiwara and several other young people. I am confident that, with their imagination and lack of preconceptions., they will work with me to find” a state of clothing that reflects its time and lifestyle”- something for which I am always searching. The latter half of the eighteenth century saw the Industrial Revolution, spurred on greatly by the inventions of the spinning machine and the steam engine. This in turn gave birth to a new middle class, particularly after the French Revolution. These social and industrial upheavals changed the history of clothing and popularized fashion, which had hitherto been only for the privileged aristocracy. From these beginnings eventually came haute couture, with a host of new creative ideas; in time, pret-a-porter was derived from that. Fashion, ever since, has been diversifying as the world around it changes. Once again our society is poised to make dramatic changes based upon developments in science and technology. Will fashion be able to afford to keep the same old methodology? I have endeavored to experiment to make fundamental changes to the system of making clothes. Think: a thread goes into a machine that, in turn, generates completed clothing using the latest computer technology, eliminating the usual needs for cutting and sewing the fabric. The idea stemmed from my desire to make a contribution to environmental protection and the conservation of resources. The process not only cuts down on resources and labor, but is also a means to recycle thread. I first introduced this idea, calling it “ Just Before” in my Spring/Summer 1998 Collection. Different dress shapes were knitted in a continuous tube and the final step in their completion was made by the wearer. By the Spring/Summer 2000 collection the project had been named A-POC, which stands for A Piece Of Cloth and continues to evolve. Recent versions have been “Woven”, and integrated formulation of textiles; “Mobile”, spreading widely; “Angel”, children’s clothing; and “framework”, the variation of specific frames. We are still in a phase of creating formulas for industrial products, but the possibilities are infinite. With a little imagination, we might even be able to go beyond making cloths to making robots! I believe that technology can function only as long as w e have the ability to imagine, a sense of curiosity and a love for our fellow men. The A-POC concept was born in Japan, and presented in Paris where originality is cherished. A-POC will now take its first steps in Berlin, a city that symbolizes the unification of the East and the West. With each visit to berlin, I become more and more fascinated by its willingness to contribute to international society, its capacity to appreciate diverse cultures and the dynamic energy of its reconstruction. It is interesting that the Bauhaus tradition, the integration of art and technology, was born in Germany. The Vitra Design Museum might be called the successor to the Bauhaus movement, inextricably linked to everyday living. The museum owns an extensive collection of contemporary furniture and related materials, and is one of the first to focus on industrial design; the integration of art and technology. The museum fully understands our ambition to explore future design for the twenty-first century through its most intimate form; clothing design for human beings.

possibilities are infinite

Think: a thread goes into a machine that, in turn, generates completed clothing using the latest computer technology, elimining the usual needs for cutting and sewing the fabric.

Fashion is a great historical marker

you can really see what’s happening in history the ideals of the time trhrough fashion

c r e a t i n g

t h i n g s

t h a t

a r e

t i m e l e s s .

I t

c o

we’re at the moment of personal desire and personal identity

u l d

b e

f r o m

t h e

p a s t

t h e

p r e s e n t a n d

t h e

f u t u r e