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
