Digital age in the 21st century can be represented as digital technology and there have been changes in design environment in various aspects such as new concept of expressions derived from the development of digital technology, reinterpretation for e...
Digital age in the 21st century can be represented as digital technology and there have been changes in design environment in various aspects such as new concept of expressions derived from the development of digital technology, reinterpretation for existing design concept and methods and attempts of new design methods. It is estimated that variable fashion design in digital age surpasses the domain of simply 'wearing clothes' fashion and it has the function as a tool that can make human life convenient and cope with environmental changes and the expressive function, in which it is possible to put them off and represent as for wearers' sensitivity and sense, and it will become one of the most important concepts of fashion trends in the 21st century.
In this regard, this study was aimed to examine the flow of modern fashion through the case analysis of variable fashion design in digital age and establish the foundation, with which one could discuss the directions of fashion design mixed with various styles. First of all, this study investigated precedent documents and researches and defined the term of variable fashion design as the costume that had the structure of being changed from more than one of other forms and could be recomposed in their original forms after being transformed for the 2nd and 3rd functions. In addition, this study could investigate the theoretical background of digital age and the characteristics of design environment and analyzed the cases of variable fashion design by dividing them into variable types by attachment method, function, manipulation and technology. As a result, it was possible to deduce mobility, multi-functionality, protection, virtuality and amusements from the formativeness of variable fashion design of digital age.
The results of the study could be summarized as in the following.
First, in terms of mobility shown in variable fashion design of digital age, there was a reflection of the lifestyle for 'digital nomads' who lived while moving all the time along with the diffusion of digital environment was reflected. The mobility of spatial concept had a characteristic of portability, with which one could wear it in excessive spaces or non-spatial places.
Second, multi-functionality could be utilized as bodily tools or devices and could be modified with practicality and functionality depending on the purpose of wearers in various circumstances. Dress and its ornament also meant the efficient capability to be used multi-purposefully and multi-functionally.
Third, protection reflected the nomadic environments so that it performed a function of physical protection of body from changingenvironments and attempted to perform a function of psychological protection that would give a sense of psychological stability to people.
Fourth, virtuality led one to have new mental experiences through the costumes in reality and pass the boundary of gender; in doing so, it would be possible for each individual to express things freely and surpass physical limitations of human body, expand its function and space and form a new sense of beauty.
Fifth, amusements could make one to feel 'something new' by the diversity and change in formation in the process of variability and they could satisfy psychological and aesthetic desire of modern people and correspond to sensual desire.
The aforementioned formativeness would not be entirely different from reality, but it would be accumulated and intermingled depending on technical development and environmental influences.
Various environments surrounding design have become a lot more complicated in digital age than in any other periods and the demand and purpose of the user could be changed rapidly; therefore, it would be necessary to recognize the different problems compared to those up to now and establish new directions so as to attain diverse creation and attempts.
By analyzing the phenomenon of variable fashion design in fashion appeared thanks to the development of science technology and the change of environments in the 21st digital age and figuring out the directions of incoming fashion trends, it is expected at the turning point of a new century that this study will be able to establish the foundation, on which one can figure out the directions of costume changes.