Bridge 3: Interpretation and Argument
Ashley Conway Int Sem 2: Fashion.C11.Sp18 March 28, 2018
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Although many people believe that art and design are one in the same, there are actually many differences between the two methods. Both can be pleasing to the eye and both require an element of creativity to them. While art can simply be creative for the sole purpose of being creative and still hold value, design has to create something that serves a purpose. In fashion design, the lines between design and art can easily become blurred. While Haute couture can considered to be an art form due to the high quality needlework and beautiful shape the pieces can take, it is not as useful as something like Nike’s dry-fit running leggings which are designed specifically for that action. Because fashion design is filled with beauty, provocation, and expression, what makes it different from art? At Parsons School of Design, I have begun to understand that designers go through the same research processes that scholars in Business or STEM schools go through. Designers have to develop a deeper understanding in order to solve the problem. Like artists, designers can decide to personalize their design or keep it less creative. But the research they have studied and found will be shown in their final design. Artists also have to go through their own research, but in fact, the final piece does not necessarily have to portray the research done. In fashion design, you have to fit the form to the body. In fact the definition of fashion is o give shape or form to; alter, transform; to make or construct usually with the use of imagination and ingenuity. The research in fashion design could stem from nature, earlier cultures, or other designers, but overall the best research that is visible will be how well it fits the body. Some fashion designers do not agree that fashion design is art. Designers like Louise Nevelson, a sculptor and 3D designer, and Alwin Nikolais, an American choreographer, agree that fashion design is not an art. Louise Nevelson said, “Fashion could be an art, but it isn't. On
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earth at any time there are few people who understand themselves well enough to bring themselves to a high art. Today many rich people are living at such a pace, busy from childhood partying and traveling all the time, that they are not interested in developing themselves, so they lean on designers, hairdressers. I'm not sure they're not right - but that's not art."1 Because fashion is the biggest industry on the face of the earth, it is easy for its creativity and originality to get lost in the millions of people interested. It is difficult for fashion to not be under the radar because of its popularity. Therefore, a designer could create something new and unique and within a year’s time, that design could be on the shelves in a retail store. Because articles of clothing are wanted more than paintings, sculptures, or other pieces of fine art, it is easier for them to lose their artistic value and to become just another trend. Although some fashion designers intent is to just make aesthetic and wearable clothing, designers like Rei Kawakubo have different ideas. Rei Kawakubo invented and became the designer of Comme des Garcons in 1973. Her clothes push the boundaries of what designed clothes are meant to be, look, and feel. Much like a professional fine artist, Kawakubo has learned to modernize/reinvent old ideas and create a new philosophy through her clothing. Her clothes are not all simply made to fit the body. Some take a more sculptural shape, while others drape down like they’re not meant to fit at all. What is intriguing about her designs is that she treats them like art pieces or instillations for the human body to interact with. At one of her exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Andrew Bolton described, “The exhibition was non-chronological and not as easy to follow. Groups of shapes, which looked like sculpture and only obliquely showed the outlines of the human body, were displayed in geometric
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Priscilla Tucker, “Is Fashion An Art?”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1967, 129-140
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pods—round, square, angular, and curved—with some pods above viewers’ heads.”2 There is a reason why Karakubo’s designs ended up in a museum made for art. That is because her designs, while possible to fit the human figure, spark emotion, are whimsical, and show a greater appreciation toward the art of making clothing. Art and design share many different attributes, but it is clear to see how design uses artfulness and beauty in its process. While designs are meant to function, they are also meant to be thought invoking in the same way as art pieces. Designers and artists work in the same mediums and designers should strive to be as creative in their pieces as artists are. In another stance, designs make for the user and not for themselves. They are making something greater than just something to look at and interpret, they are looking on ways to make something more sustainable and user friendly. Both mediums differ in origin, process, and purpose, but are ultimately important for human creativity and the future.
Andrew Bolton, “Rei Kawakubo: Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between”, (Old City Publishing Inc. 2017), 60-61 2
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Bibliography
Norell, Norman, Nevelson, Louise, Sharaff, Irene, Nikolais, Alwin, Courreges, Andre, Tucker, Priscilla. “Is Fashion an Art?”. 129-140. In The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 26, No. 3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1967.
Bolton, Andrew. “Rei Kawakubo: Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between.” 60-61. In Women’s Art Journal. Edited by Old City Publishing Inc. 2017.
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