Fashion Heritage: Narrative and Knowledge Creation
... To effectively convey the historical and cultural values of Aboriginal art to the broader public, it is essential to explore new approaches to digital representation that incorporate virtual Aboriginal artworks and engage the public's multisensory experience within an immersive virtual exhibition space. Additionally, by acknowledging the social, cultural, and commercial values associated with Aboriginal art, the digital representation of Aboriginal art can emphasize sustainability and the extended production timelines involved (Cantista and Delille 2023), encouraging the public to appreciate the artistic and cultural values intrinsic to Aboriginal art. ...
... One of the distinctive attributes of Aboriginal art lies in its ability to continually redefine the dynamic interplay between Aboriginal artists, Aboriginal artworks, and consumers. By transforming commercial value into authentic value, diverse Aboriginal artworks serve as conduits for transmitting their stories (Cantista and Delille 2023). Immersive technologies play a vital role in enabling the public to engage themselves with the rich history and culture associated with Aboriginal art. ...
In 2022, the National Museum of Australia launched an immersive virtual exhibition of Australian Aboriginal art: Connection: Songlines from Australia’s First Peoples, which was created and produced by Grande Experiences, the same team that produced the multisensory experience Van Gogh Alive. The exhibition employs large-scale projections and cutting-edge light and sound technology to offer a mesmerizing glimpse into the intricate network of Australian Aboriginal art, which is an ancient pathway of knowledge that traverses the continent. Serving as the gateway to the Songlines universe, the exhibition invites visitors to delve into the profound spiritual connections with the earth, water, and sky, immersing them in a compellingly rich and thoroughly captivating narrative with a vivid symphony of sound, light, and color. This article examines Connection as a digital storytelling platform by exploring the Grande Experiences company’s approach to the digital replication of Australian Aboriginal art, with a focus on the connection between humans and nature in immersive exhibition spaces.
... In an industry as complex as the fashion one, perpetually balancing its material and immaterial natures [7], heritage refers indubitably to a specific know-how, a technical and artisanal expertise as well as a more subtle savoir-faire [8]; at the same time, however, it recalls intangible values, narratives, and stories. Thereby, fashion is something both inherently communicative and much communicated about, and creatives display a large amount of reflexivity into self-portrayal through their creative outputs. ...
In recent years, several studies have attempted to trace the evolution of the fashion system in a globalised context and pluralized societies. This paper follows in the footsteps of similar research, focusing in particular on Afro-Italian fashion, i.e. on garments created by designers of African descent who have chosen Made in Italy - its rules, structures and conventions - as a tangible and symbolic place to give form to their creativity.
Through qualitative research, the paper discusses the storytelling of Afro-Italian fashion within the Made in Italy imaginary; it focuses on communication practices put in place by the actors involved and by the networks they activate. Specific interest is dedicated to self-defining strategies in terms of values and images proposed as narratives that are both authentic and not other-directed.
In doing so, the study highlights how Afro-descendant creatives promote a new model of Italian-ness, and critically nurture a new Made in Italy by being relevant social and economic actors within and beyond the African diaspora on the national territory.
L’article porte sur les illustrations de Leslie Saalburg réalisées au début des années 1960 pour Les Ambassadeurs de Henry James. Saalburg était un illustrateur reconnu qui travaillait pour des magazines consacrés à la mode, aux voyages ou aux automobiles. Cette commande de The Limited Editions Club semble avoir été sa seule contribution à l’illustration littéraire. La première partie de l’article montre comment les aquarelles de Saalburg empruntent à l’illustration commerciale et reflètent ses idées conservatrices sur l’élégance vestimentaire, dans le contexte d’une nostalgie pour l’époque édouardienne durant les années 1960. En lien avec la place centrale du vêtement, la deuxième partie compare la façon dont les illustrations et le texte de James mettent en scène le regard de Strether, protagoniste et focalisateur du récit, dans son rapport à la fois fétichiste et magique à certains personnages féminins. Il est montré qu’en raison du parti pris conservateur de Saalburg, les illustrations ignorent le concept de formes évolutives de transmission sociale à l’œuvre dans le roman. La troisième partie prolonge cette analyse en montrant la dimension interpictoriale de certaines planches, et en s’appuyant sur la notion de « façons de voir » de Charles Goodwin. Elle se termine par l’idée que l’échange de regards dans les illustrations, confiné aux interactions entre individus d’un même milieu, contourne la représentation jamesienne des tensions entre communautés sociales ou épistémiques opposées.
The research examines global fashion, with a special focus on cultural appropriation and inspiration in the contemporary fashion industry. The issue of cultural appropriation is quite new in the scenario of cultural studies. In its early stage, the project will consider new perspectives on the analysis of fashion production with a multidisciplinary approach. By collecting and studying material from international frameworks, the research aims to understand how the concept of appropriation develops. By outlining an approach for a conscious production process, even cooperating with other international realities, the present work might be of help in decentralizing the market.
The Covid19 pandemic forced most companies to impose teleworking from home. Although individuals have access to many platforms in order to collaborate and to communicate with others, telework during the pandemic brought to light many challenges. Among these, personal appearance, and the setting in which videoconferences are conducted emerged as critical elements when working from home. Very few studies have researched the role of fashion in video-meetings. To address this gap, a survey has been executed, providing relevant insights into workers’ videoconferencing practices. Findings show that individuals’ appearance when doing online meetings with the camera on is very different from when they are in a professional setting. Furthermore, the desirability and prediction of use of digital elements/filters such as clothing, make-up, accessories, hair/beard, and home décor for professional settings are high. The implications of this study are twofold. Firstly, it provides novel insights on the role of digital fashion in the context of teleworking. Then, avenues for future research on digital fashion for videoconferencing in a post-pandemic setting are presented.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have witnessed unprecedented dynamism over the recent years with only few luxury brands experimenting with the technology albeit the very personal characteristics of NFT ownership. Little is known about how luxury brands use NFTs to develop their brand image and what opportunities luxury brands anticipate from NFTs as a new technology, digital product category or customer relationship channel. The present research note offers an applied research design to tackle these questions and systematically understand the potential of NFTs for personal luxury brands at large.
The case of the Louis Vuitton ‘ maison de famille ’ in Asnières-sur-Seine allows investigation of communications strategies implemented by Corporate Fashion Museums. It is argued these museum types are used by luxury fashion brands as marketing tools to retain their customers. The data relied upon are primarily qualitative: interviews and exploratory observations were specifically conducted between January 2020 and November 2022. It is suggested that the process of commodification of the family patrimonium as well as the enhancement of for-sale products within the museum is made possible through the wise use of various techniques mainly related to the artification and the heritagization processes. The combination of those techniques – linking fashion brands with the art and museum world(s) – enables fashion firms to produce a coherent corporate narrative while pursuing seemingly oppositional goals.
The French luxury brand, Balenciaga, recently faced its most important communication crisis. On November 16th 2022, the brand released its holiday gifting campaign featuring children surrounded by sadomasochism-inspired teddy bears/handbags and received immediate backlash from the public, who accused the brand of sexualizing children and promoting pedophilia. The outrage went viral on social media - mainly on Tiktok - with the hashtags #burnbalenciaga and #cancelbalenciaga, which have accumulated more than 300 million views. Balenciaga suffered an incalculable damage on its reputation, having two flagship stores vandalized and a viral online boycott. This investigation follows the case study methodology, by analyzing the timeline of events, the brand’s statements and response, the viral effect of the boycott on social media and the ultimate affectations that the brand underwent due to the crisis. The conclusions reveal that on one hand there are some social anethical boundaries that not even well-positioned and beloved brands can afford to cross, and that slow, unclear and unaccountable answers compose a terrible strategy of crisis management, and on the other hand, the power of consumers on social media has gained enough strength to damage brands like Balenciaga.
This research project aims to investigate the symbolic and cultural meanings behind an underwear targeted to women in order to analyze the glamorous elements of a garment which is often presented in scenarios that allude to sexuality and transgression. The focus is on the underwear production of the last ten years, as the fashion world has lately been hit by discussions around the need to make fashion accessible for non-normative bodies. Now that fashion is called to play a role in terms of inclusivity on the symbolic as well as on the material level, the question behind this research is: what kind of relationship can be found between an inclusive underwear and glamour? The first part of this research will provide a complex definition of glamour, an ambiguous phenomenon that can either be conservative or subversive. The study will then proceed with an analysis on the relationship between glamour and underwear in the case of the two mainstream lingerie brands Victoria’s Secret and Calvin Klein. Finally, such relationship will be then investigated in the realm of a newborn inclusive lingerie brand named Chitè through an in situ ethnographic investigation.
This book represents a major milestone in the endeavour to understand how communication is impacting on the fashion industry and on societal fashion-related practices and values in the digital age. It presents the proceedings of FACTUM 19, the first in a series of fashion communication conferences that highlights important theoretical and empirical work in the field. Beyond documenting the latest scientific insights, the book is intended to foster the sharing of methodological approaches, expand the dialogue between communications’ studies and fashion-related disciplines, help establish an international and interdisciplinary network of scholars, and offer encouragement and fresh ideas to junior researchers. It is of high value to academics and students in the fields of fashion communication, fashion marketing, visual studies in fashion, digital transformation of the fashion industry, and the cultural heritage dimension of fashion. In addition, it is a key resource for professionals seeking sound research on fashion communication and marketing.
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