Summary- Fashion and Technology

I'm very passionate about fashion and technology as they both play an extremely significant role in my life. I believe I have covered a wide range of topics relating the two key components, these include 'The Smart- Swim Bikini' with in-built UV monitor,' ' Recycled Fashion,' advertising, retouching, shoe design, fashionable accessories e.g. fashionable phones, television programmes and the technology involved in fashion shoots and parades. I hope you find the topics I covered as interesting as I did.

Dove- Campaign for Real Beauty

DOVE is a renowned brand, producing skin, body cleansing and hair care products. Their mission is to make more women feel beautiful everyday and to educate and inspire all young people on a wider definition of beauty. Dove's recent television advert depicts a young girl and the media and stereotypes surrounding her. We are provided with images from magazines and advertisements on billboards etc, diet pills, slogans reading 'transform your skin,''get the perfect body in ten days' The ad features women with 'ideal and unrealistic body shapes' and others on scales and undertaking surgery. The ad ends with the words featured across the screen 'talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does.' I think this ad is extremely clever and a lot of individuals can relate to it, knowing the pressures to conform to particular stereotypes, presented through the media. The fashion industry presents size six models and movie stars with this idealistic image, as they are responding to beauty pressures, which are everywhere. There are too many girls developing low self-esteem from hang-ups about their looks. This is an issue that affects all people, regardless of age or ethnicity, and it can lead to introversion, a withdrawal from normal life and a waste of potential. Once again I think this ad depicts reality and i'm glad people are trying to fix the problems in society.

Fashion images retouched

As we all know computer retouching is involved in every fashion and beauty image that we see. I found this clip extremely interesting to see what programs like photoshop can offer, made available through technology. Retouching is an industry standard in the world of fashion and consumers are becoming more aware of such technology. Retouching can fix anything from dark circles,to making an individuals complexion come across a few shades darker, it makes people believe there is a cure for acne and can alter the lighting if the photograph was taken from the wrong angle. Retouching can fix everything- don't believe everything you see!

Footloose- The High Low Heel Shoe

I'm constantly looking for new and innovative fashion designs and the most recent development I have found is The High Low Heel Show. This invention relates to shoes and more particularly to low heel shoes which may be quickly converted to high heel shoes and vice versa. Marte den Hollander has been recognized as 'Best Graduate 2006' at the Faculty of Industrial Design, for her project Footloose, which can convert from low to high with a simple switch. Marte den Hollander claims "I designed a shoe with a high heel, which can be changed into a shoe with a low heel. No more extra pairs of shoes in your bag, no more trouble driving a car or walking stairs, no more painful feet, no more knee and ankle damage, a practical shoe without even compromising on your looks. This design is a classic example of a no pain, no gain product. The question for the brief- Would it be possible to make a shoe having all advantages of high heels, just as well as the comfort of flats? The answer, yes, although for such a product to be a serious alternative for regular heels it has to be mechanically and ergonomically sound, and moreover: it has to have allure! The technology in the shoe is evident in the heel shape. It has separate tips for both positions. While being used in one position, the other heel tip is kept out of sight in and opening in the sole. The shoe is being transformed with a simple and quick movement: the individual must pull the heel downwards to release it, after which it can be folded in or out as preferred. The adjustment of the heel position automatically changes the curvature of the sole to fit the altered shape of the foot. The mechanism has been patented. I found this design extremely creative and resourceful as most girls, especially fashion conscious females love their high heel shoes, they are getting two shoes in one at their convenience.

Escalator technology and fashion precinct

I came across this modern fashion precinct catering for the young shoppers in the Siam Paragon, an upscale shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It is one of the biggest shopping centers in Asia. Throughout the centre the theme was artistic and expressionistic grafitti and colour on walls, floors and escalators, which move people though the fashion floors. The escalators act as a canvas and blend into the tower while being a functional form of technology disguised as a large artwork. The paintings on the walls create a relaxed and comfortable environment for the teenage shoppers. The furniture was funky and modern, with designated seating areas for the consumers to meet and greet. The centre is young and modern and showcases trendy fashions in Thailand and their designers, including end of year textiles and fashion parades, which I was priviledged to observe.

StellaLuna Advertising- 'Refrigerated Shoes'

On a recent holiday to Bangkok, I came across a visual display in The BMK Fashion building depicting the new StellaLuna range of shoes (Spring/ Summer 2007). The display included 3 large refrigerators covered extrenally with silver metallic fabric and filled with the new range of the labels current silver and gold high heels, also displaying advertising posters for the brand. This was an eye- catching display- innovative, creative and visually appealing. As I am extremely interested in art and fashion I filmed the display (although not very well as you can see from the above clip). I'm always on the lookout for unusual, artistic and ingenious ideas and when looking through my holiday photos I realised the image incorporated both fashion and technology, with the white goods of the fridge and the inclusion of shoes and fabric as the fashion. I didn't know until I further researched the brand and its advertising, which is one of the most innovative marketing and advertising brands throughout Thailand and Asia.

Below are a few links showing the brand's creativity in advertising

http://www.10ad.org/stella-shoes-ads/

http://www.10ad.org/stella-luna-ad-prints/

The Inflatable Dress- Fashion and technology united!

Fashion designers Diana Eng, who many of you might remember from 'Project Runway' on Fox8 and Emily Albinski first made headlines when their 'Inflatable Dress' made the cover of ID Magazine last fall. The duo aim to push forward technology in the fashion world. The designers are including biological and technological concepts with fashion, which is giving them a great edge in the fashion world. The 'Inflatable Dress' is designed to incorporate a hacked vacuum cleaner to inflate the dress and give it volume. A plastic cast corset with lots of switches embedded in it completes the look. The gown fits closely to the body but inflates to become bell shaped with tendril-like spikes on the back and large pillows of air on the sides. The silhouette of the gown can be changed by varying the amount of air. ID Magazine included the caption "never has a vacuum cleaner looked so sexy!" Personally, I think the dress is extremely creative and think it would look great in an exhibition or museum, although I can't see this dress being worn on a night out, although I think that the designers achieved their goal in making 'the fashion-minded more interested in the research process, and the scientifically minded more interested in fashion as a form of self-expression.' The often disparate worlds of fashion and technology are being united to create an artform which will resonate appreciation and innovation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI6WwpH4sQw Fashion Meets Technology- This is the YouTube video of the fashion parade of these two designers and if you fast forward to 7:41- 8:26 you will se 'The Inflatable Dress' being modelled.