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- Volume 7, Issue 2, 2020
Fashion, Style & Popular Culture - Volume 7, Issue 2-3, 2020
Volume 7, Issue 2-3, 2020
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Collaboration of 3D technology and fashion innovations: A creative accessory development assessment
Authors: LaPorchia C. Davis, Joel Tomlinson, Lombuso Khoza and Najma JamaludeenAbstractIn this study, we examined student experiences surrounding the utilization of 3D printing for accessory production by fashion merchandising students enrolled in an Apparel Construction and Evaluation course at a historically Black university. The students designed and produced a sustainable 3D accessory prototype, and at the end of the course, completed a survey on their experiences surrounding drafting and the design-making process using computer-aided design (CAD). Faculty in the Apparel Construction and Evaluation course collaborated with Department of Technology faculty to help advance students' design skills in mass manufacturing in the fashion industry. Each student completed a month of impactful technology experience by creating sustainable prototypes of 3D accessories for their end-of-year fashion showcase held annually in the department. Results were compiled from student-completed surveys administered at the end of the course. This research was undertaken with the primary goal of assessing creative learning and was focused on three objectives: (1) to have students rethink and develop their own sustainable accessory line; (2) to provide students with real-world fashion accessory applications and (3) to increase students' understanding of computer-aided methods of design through 3D modeling, shapes and figures.
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Sustainable retail system: Proposal for closed-loop fashion
More LessAbstractThe fashion industry is at a turning point due to the increased unsustainability of current economic, environmental and social practices requiring a new set of best practices throughout the supply and value chains. Retailers and manufacturers seek profit in a consumer market that increasingly expects more product and services for less money at a quicker rate of turnover. Scarcity of resources, from natural materials to affordable labour, will only intensify rather than be ameliorated in the current system. Concurrently, increasing awareness of environmental and social harm will make negotiations between price and availability all the more acute. The consumer expectation of environmentally friendly practices does not necessarily translate into acceptance of higher costs in the marketplace. The fashion industry therefore must reconsider the role of the designer, the use of technology, long-term responsibility for all products sold and how to engage the consumer beyond the confines of the traditional point of sale. Designers, manufacturers and retailers will have to reconfigure the supply chain process and expand the possibilities of experiential retail to accommodate increased consumer demand of getting what they want when they want it, all while affording confidence and trust. This article is a proposal for a Closed-Loop Sustainable Product Service System and Retail construct. The proposal suggests a national network of design, retail and manufacturing sites specific to a community or region. Specific technology would support small batch production geared to the requirements of a community or locality while taking responsibility for all waste. A supporting literature review will be provided reinforcing the assertions and suggestions made by the author.
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Making-up on mobile: The pretty filters and ugly implications of Snapchat
More LessAbstractWhat happens when the fashionable beauty ideal – typically considered unattainable – becomes instantly attainable for the masses with the mere tap of a touchscreen? As the widespread use of Snapchat's popular but problematic Lenses has shown, responses are mixed and critiques abound. The social media platform Snapchat introduced Lenses – commonly known as face filters – in 2015. These filters apply virtual accessories and edit facial features, enabling users to incorporate augmented reality technology into their daily sartorial practice. Through this 'digital adornment' users experiment with creativity and self-expression, as with cosmetics and clothing, while forging social connections. However, Snapchat's filters frequently spark controversy by slimming the jawlines and noses, enlarging the eyes and lips, and smoothing and lightening the complexions of millions of users. These effects have caused users to consider the powers of self-fashioning and question the standard of beauty being presented. By examining the observations and opinions presented in the online fashion, tech and news media, this study explores the problematic nature of Snapchat's beautifying filters. It traces users' dismay at how Snapchat, originally praised as a space for authentic, unfiltered self-presentation, became a force for aggressively perpetuating fashionable but exclusionary beauty ideals. It presents the range of reactions to these face-perfecting filters, from satisfaction and guilt to insecurity and body dysmorphia. It also explores the connection between face filters, cosmetics and feminine beauty ideals in a celebrity-led, self-image-saturated culture, with reference to brand-sponsored filters.
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Packers, dilators and the options for either male or female: Navigating movement of transgender and gender non-conforming bodies, appearances and luggage through airport security
Authors: Kelly L. Reddy-Best and Eric D. OlsonAbstractIn this article, we investigate the experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals leading up to and moving through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport lines. We used a qualitative research method and analysed fourteen in-depth interviews of TGNC individuals. Based upon analysis of the data, three larger themes emerged, each with several subthemes. First, the TGNC participants engaged in extra packing or had additional packing considerations. Second, as participants moved through security, they frequently experienced gender confusion from the TSA agents. Lastly, participants actively thought about passing, or tried to dress in a way where they were perceived as passing as a binary gender. TGNC bodies are rendered as potential threats in binary spaces, specifically those spaces with the purpose of surveillance. In the case of TSA, they disrupt hegemonic expectations surrounding gender and require additional emotional, physical and financial labour. Despite proactivity from other parties to gain them equal access to binary spaces, TGNC individuals still experience, in some cases, additional scrutiny, observation and intensified analysis before being granted access through entryways deemed suitable only to the long-standing hierarchy of the gender binary.
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The foundation of American women's fashion magazines
More LessAbstractThis article traces the history of the first successful American women's fashion magazines, meaning publications that lasted longer than five years and with a national reach, which gained a foothold in the mid-1800s. The origin and growth of Godey's Lady's Book are highlighted as a model for many future publications, and two of its contemporaries: Harper's Bazar and The Delineator. The catalyst for this achievement in the magazine industry is examined through changing cultural attitudes towards leisure reading for women, increased time for recreation as made possible by modern technology and other technological advancements in publishing and distribution. In tandem with this development, career opportunities created for women within this growing industry and the continued cultivation of women's educational and vocational advancements are discussed. The important foundations established during this period have led to recognizable formulas for success that are still appreciated and utilized in the magazine industry today.
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Hashtag Vogue: A content analysis of the differences between regional Vogue Instagram accounts
Authors: Evelyn Rossol and Kendra LapollaAbstractFashion media is an essential part of the fashion industry in communicating cultural fashion, current trends and innovations. However, there are many differences due to cultural values, history and media access. A content analysis of Vogue magazine, Russia, India, Brazil and Arabia is designed to identify differences in content between regional Vogue Instagram accounts. Images were screenshot from each account and then organized into themes resulting in four main categories for all accounts: one, how the Vogue woman was dressed, two, the personality/lifestyle of the Vogue woman, three, the structure of the photo and finally commonalities between the accounts. The researcher found many differences and a few overlaps in values in these five Vogue accounts. Different regional areas maintain distinctions even though fashion is globally communicated.
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Setting the scene for slow fashion: Digital explorations of New York's fibrescape
Authors: Helen X. Trejo, Tasha L. Lewis and David E. ArellanesAbstractFarmers with sheep, alpacas and goats provide opportunities for local slow fashion. This is a practice-based case study that developed after discovering primary issues experienced by New York fibre farmers such as low profits and difficulty reaching a market. Beyond products available, farmers highlighted the educational value of their farms, animals and fibres, which are intangible aspects of slow fashion. The aim of this research is to increase the visibility of New York farms, natural fibres and opportunities for slow fashion through digital media short films. This research was guided by Actor Network Theory and the cartography of controversies method during broader slow fashion research in 2013 through 2017. The four New York farm-to-fashion films highlight fibre agro-tourism, artisanship, locally produced fashion and sorting raw fibres for scaled production. The process of creating the short films and interacting with farmers made several entities within the local farm-to-fashion network more visible, including limited access to communication technologies in rural areas, water issues, the closure of fibre mills and economic development issues. The 'collective existence' of local farm-to-fashion is complex and includes social, economic, political and environmental elements in addition to previously considered entities such as fibre animals, farmers, infrastructure and tools. The films were presented to several academic, community audiences and are available as open resources.
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Communicating identity through wearable technologies: The case of the action film
More LessAbstractThe wearable technologies market claims to be growing continually, and yet the question if wearables have actually assumed an indispensable place in fashion and mass consumerism remains. Apart from a number of practical problems such as high price, poor design and numerous reservations over privacy, wearable technologies also seem to give rise to identity issues. Leaning on research conducted by Natalia Berger of Inholland University (the Netherlands) on mass media texts and the manner in which they communicate the idea of smart fashion/wearable technologies to the mass consumer, the article attempts to look at the field of action film and the message that this specific genre communicates to its audiences about wearables. The argumentation focuses on the issue of identity and how wearable technologies participate in its creation within the realms of real life and the fictional reality of action film. The findings of the discussion concur with those of Berger, i.e. that, to enhance the popularity of wearable technologies and devices in real life, action films, like other mass media, must apply an inclusion policy, rather than communicating them as a niche market for minorities, such as a special, elitist group like government agents or superheroes. Following recommendations from experts and enthusiasts in the field, the article suggests that wearable devices be communicated as empowering their users in everyday life.
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The 'store of the future' in popular culture: Trends in press coverage of experiential retailing
Authors: David Loranger and Marla GreeneAbstractSince the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, the global retail market has witnessed massive demographic and technological changes that have re-defined consumer experience. Such changes include the rise of the millennial consumer cohort, and the introduction of retailers implementing enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) data methodology to analyse business, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to enhance experience and co-customization interfaces. Two seminal pieces of literature regarding consumer experience are Ballantine and Parson's analysis of consumer experience factors and Pine and Gilmore's (1999) Experience Economy. However, these studies were conducted nearly a decade ago, leaving a void in the literature that does not consider more current factors impacting consumer experience. The purpose of the present research was to: analyse popular press coverage to understand trends in experiential elements; and to extend the Ballantine and Parsons' framework by proposing more current experiential elements. The researchers used the EBSCO database to generate a list of articles written from 2008 to 2018; these articles were then analysed via a qualitative content analysis method, using Ballantine and Parson's and Pine and Gilmore's frameworks as a base. Emergent themes that did not fit the above frameworks were added, thereby updating and extending the current body of knowledge. Findings indicated an increased emphasis on 'experiential retailing' over the years 2016–18. Product display, employees, colour and comfort features emerged as the most important Ballantine and Parsons themes, while new emergent themes of technology, uniqueness/personalization and entertainment/escapism/discovery were added to the Ballantine and Parsons framework, thus updating it to reflect current retailing trends. Implications for industry and academia, along with directions for future research are provided.
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Fashion social marketing: Analysing reactions to Lane Bryant's #PlusIsEqual
Authors: Jennifer Harmon and Kelly L. Reddy-BestAbstractIn 2015, Lane Bryant, one of the first plus-size retailers, launched #PlusIsEqual, a social-marketing campaign to promote equality for fat bodies. Before this campaign, the intersections of social causes and marketing were largely absent from the fashion media landscape. The purpose of this study was to analyse the reaction to Lane Bryant's campaign by following and analysing the Twitter hashtag and campaign website for six months. Notions of the fat body as beautiful were met mostly with positive reactions, which highlights how users who engaged with the campaign, who themselves may have been overweight or plus-size individuals, could experience positive outcomes related to viewing such models and ideas in future-related campaigns.
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Transformative technologies and the loss of privacy
More LessAbstractAs conversational commerce and transformative technologies further develop connections between the retailer and consumer, the public at large tends to forget the amount of transparency allowed in order for these systems to work. As personalization and the integration of tech become more sophisticated and culturally embedded through items such as home assistants, there are genuine concerns regarding the consumer's loss of privacy. The article reflects and suggests a pause in how much privacy society may be giving up in the search for a streamlined and personalized shopping experience, by virtue of the power and knowledge AI provides the devices and systems that enable a consumer to shop online. The goal of the study was to investigate how much and why consumers are opting to relinquish privacy for efficiency in the retail experience. While it is often acknowledged that consumers are opting to share more about themselves in the digital world, the paper looks at the background of why this has happened. In addition, the study includes a literature review and interviews with industry experts on their perspectives as both consumers and digital and social media marketers.
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Fashion and Appropriation
Authors: Denise Nicole Green and Susan B. Kaiser
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