Academic literature on the topic 'Costume design Costume design Clothing and dress. Fiberwork'

Fashion scholarship has prospered since the 1980s. Yet in spite of the stimulating research in this field, principally in the domain of design, gender, media and cultural studies, only a handful of scholars have written about fashion�s relationship with the artworld. This, inspite of the artworld increasingly drawing upon the idiom of fashion - �the new�, �the now� and hype, and the evolvement of sartorial fashion into an exciting new artistic medium as the result of an increasingly experimental attitude towards design. This thesis considers the idiom of fashion as part of art-making, and how we might critically approach fashion design as a visual arts practice. The relationship between fashion and the artworld is explored using the ideas of intersection, interplay and collusion. In utilising these ideas to explore the rapport between fashion and the artworld the multi-faceted nature of fashion�s relationship with the artworld, the slippages between the commercial and creative imperatives of fashion, are brought to the surface. This project grew out of a �debate� emerging in the 1980s and 1990s and occurring in articles and exhibitions which sought to identify and elaborate on a closer rapport between fashion and art. Based on this �debate� six sites of connection are considered, beginning with a discussion on writing about fashion from a visual arts perspective, and where a range of proponents and proposals are considered. The thesis then shifts to an analysis of the February 1982 special issue of Artforum which featured a garment designed by Issey Miyake on its cover. This is followed by an exploration of the value attached to fashion in the artworld. The fashion designer�s self-construction as a visual artist is the subject of the next chapter, followed by a look at the emergence of Conceptual Couture - ideas-based fashion. The final chapter considers fashion in the exhibition environment.

This paper presents a detailed analysis of Assassin’s Creed III’s character Haytham Kenway’s costume, with emphasis on the physical qualities as well as the symbolic factors used in the garments. The costume is constructed physically in order to facilitate a further comparative study between the real and the virtual qualities looking at historical and technical accuracies in order to aid game companies in constructing accurate virtual costume.

Success in fashion design is important both in its own right and because it has positive influences on the culture of a country and because of the favourable ramifications it can have across many unrelated industries. This dissertation investigates the Australian fashion design industry and asks whether there is a place for a semi-autonomous industry regulator of the kind found in other countries. France is a natural choice as a model because on the one hand it has the most success and enjoys the highest prestige in international fashion design, and on the other it has a well-developed support and accreditation structure, the Federation Francaise de la Couture, du Fret-a-Porter des Couturiers et des Createurs de Mode. The Federation oversees the whole process, promoting and protecting innovation in the industry and laying down the criteria used in fashion accreditation. These observations led to the question, if a parallel fashion designers' organization were introduced in Australia, what are the chances it would be suitable and effective? To answer this question, interviews were conducted in Australia and in three European countries. The major systematic enquiry was based on a sample of 48 local industry people in key positions in media, commerce and education, who were encouraged to describe and evaluate the industry and to supply answers to a systematic survey document. Candour was promoted by the anonymity of the survey process. The major outcome in terms of evaluation of the industry was that for historical and structural reasons Australian fashion design is not characterized by a high volume of original work. Consequently it is not having much impact internationally and the upper echelons are not providing the basis for downward diffusion of ideas. If the standard (French) classification were applied to Australia, the bulk of the labels would be categorized at the lower end of the scale. The informants provided a strong consensus regarding the nature of the shortfalls including the undue emphasis given to derivative design, the lack of special support for young talent and the low priority given to the synergy between art and high quality craftsmanship. There was agreement that Australian fashion designers should not focus on product just for local consumers, because fashion in clothing is not central to the minds of the average Australian as it is for example in European countries. Fashion designers might be wise to exploit the position of Australia on the edge of the Asian subcontinent and the pool of potential design talent from other countries within the Australian population. By drawing from the new aesthetics emerging in Australia's pluralistic society, designers could easily be at the cutting edge internationally. They might showcase their work at overseas venues, although not necessarily, in the first instance, in countries like France. Although a full-scale federation-type organization might fail for want of a solid innovative industry upon which it might be based, a limited version of such a controlling body could well succeed. Its task would he to steer new directions in education which develops a pool of creative talent through master classes which focus on understanding original design, the importance of the manual aspect in design and the mechanisms of, and rewards stemming from diffusion. Sponsorship should be granted to endeavours by a collective of such talent to showcase designs abroad. Government funds should be redirected away from the promotion of a generic product to a fashion-designing paradigm emphasizing 'designer handwriting' as the value-added aspect. In addition to exploring these issues, this dissertation provides reflections on the nature of the design process and suggests ways in which fashion design and fashion design education might move to revitalize the industry.

Good Girl/Bad Girl asks women to define the good girls and bad girls in respect to their clothing. Participants are women who live in either New Mexico or Texas and identify as one or more of the following groups: New Mexican, Mexican, Native American, Sorority women, and Cowgirls. Participants with interviewed and photographed in their homes and places of work. Good Girl/Bad Girl was exhibited during the 2013 The Co-op Presents the Cohen New Works Festival. A selection of twenty-one images were displayed in addition to audio from the interviews.<br>text

This study is a critique of Aso Ebi in Owambe social uniform and social performance phenomena of the Yoruba culture of Nigeria in West Africa. The Aso Ebi phenomenon is a social uniform that is inextricable from the Owambe spectacle of the Yoruba culture, which, in itself, is a social performance. Aso Ebi is a fabric that is selected, made into garments and worn by groups of people who are related to one another in various ways such as family, friends or comrades. The uniforms are worn for social gatherings, especially celebrations, which are popularly called Owambe. These celebrations are very elaborate and loud, much like a grand spectacle put on to show wealth, unity and flamboyance. The research is the explanation of how the Aso Ebi and Owambe social uniforms manifest themselves and this manifestation is presented through a body of artworks. The artworks seek to expose the unseen actualities involved in participating in these social performances and issues of social survival within these cultural phenomena. The analysis addresses the impacts and influence of conformity in cooperative behaviour by an individual within his/her social identity and relationships. The main question this study addresses is whether the positive factors of unity, social order and expressive visual flamboyance of the social phenomena outweigh the negative impacts particularly on the individuals who participate in these social performances. This is done by acknowledging the experiences of the participating individuals in the conformity and transmission modes of these phenomena in this culture. The visual productions of the concepts in the research are achieved through performance, collages, photography and a sculptural installation. The significance of these emergent visual productions is that they shift the focus from the impression of the group to the conformity by the individual. This highlights the problems faced by the participating individuals in the pursuit and participation of this cultural phenomenon.<br>Department of Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology<br>M.A. (Visual Arts)