The psychology of fashion, along with Photoshop, VR and AI as major disruptors.
I went for a stroll along the walkway overlooking the beach.
It was a beautiful day and all the sun starved skin was making its first appearance in a very long time.
I started pondering the notion of swimsuits. As a designer I reflected on the psychology in the fashion industry, many would be surprised that a major part of fashion is about psychology and as a designer I studied it, many moons ago, along with 3 years of pattern drafting, yes 2 ends of the spectrum for those analysts out there.
A swimsuit is the same pattern formation as underwear/lingerie, except with different fabrics of course to allow for chlorine, salt water and UV sun damage /protection, this is where the science of textiles and the environment comes into play, also another consideration of a designer.
If you wore a bra and knickers to the beach, you would be looked at sideways. Even though the same amount of skin is on show, assuming you’re not wearing lace, of course, in which case you would get a very artistic sun tattoo.
The one piece swimsuit is exactly like a bodysuit except for those annoying snap fasteners in the crotch area, although they are more convenient than having to take everything off just to go to the bathroom, especially if you’re in a frenzied rush.
OK, so the male equivalent is jocks or your “budgie smugglers” . Unless you are into the airier, boxers, in which case “boardies” are exactly the same, just longer with a mesh inlay to keep things in place to avoid chafing rashes when active, outdoors, in public, that is. I’ll leave “commandos” out of this document, they’re a very specialized breed, not to be messed with, rarely written about in detail, and often blacked out.
Now if you wore your swimsuit to the city, while just on a shopping spree, in turn you would be looked at sidewards, or have a line of people behind you. OK, some people may see that as a good thing, depending on their relationship status. The exception here, are “boardies”, they tend to get away with alot.
I’m not saying this is bad. If we didn’t have these organically derived divisions that evolve within societies, life would be boring. We would all wear the same thing, all the time, purely for physical necessity, like cave men and women.
The human pshyche is unique to other animals, on earth anyway. Some octopus change color for camouflage, other animals go through a metamorphosis, moths to butterflies, as part of their life. Humans need constant mental, visual and sensual stimulation through choices and new experiences. The physical and mental needs become one in the human form in order for us to grow both physically and mentally.
Fashion, is an important part of the modern human’s sense of inner self and external self expression. Many see fashion as frivolous and yes it can be, but frivolous can be fun and necessary to balance out a multitude of different needs, both emotionally and in the physical world.
“Going to the Dry Cleaners to pick up a suit.”
A phrase that was often used by females or the gay counterpart, keep in mind, this was the 80’s and 90’s. Side note, I’m quite partial to suits, oh I mean, I like the technical design to them.
I’d be interested in the current equivalent. I like to try and keep up with the lingo, although like most I find it hard in an increasingly changing and faster paced world.
Travelling at peak hour on a train and terminating in the city in the business district, is mind numbing. Then a flash of color or creative fashion ensembles from a few people buck the trend and add that spark to your visual sensory intake. I have to add though, this era is certainly more interesting than other eras in history, as someone who studied the history of fashion.
I’m sure people looking at historical photos of people probably didn’t realize that the main focus, intentionally or subconsciously, of a human full length image is focused on their attire as it demonstrates and gives a story about their personality, their work, their daily activities, not to mention, whether or not they were color blind. The black & white era saved those diagnosed as color blind, for historical records, their terrible secret kept safe in black and white only.
Now, enter Photoshop.
Throw all that out the window, and now it’s all about your desired image and how you digitally represent yourself in the cyber world and how you present yourself in the physical world.
Schrodinger would love this.
VR (Virtual Reality) is now going to make you multi dimensional but you haven’t quite evolved to a hologram yet. You technically, now have different personas in unison at the same time, you are known as the same person yet you exist as different people in different places at the same time, with different personas of your choosing depending on how you feel at that moment and want to be perceived by others. Your fashion wardrobe extends to Virtual Reality fashion where your self expression is endless, and only limited by your imagination.
Finally, the dark side, deep fakes constructed by others using your image. You no longer have control over how you present yourself, your self expression and ownership of your image has been stolen from you, someone else is now manipulating and controlling how others see you, your personal identity has been violated, and as they say, once on the internet it’s there forever in one form or another, without your consent, yet you will be the one who loses everything. The new identity theft.
There is some light at the end of this black hole. Like humans, Tech and AI has 2 sides. When one thing is created, there is usually something opposite created and hopefully keeps pace with or stays ahead of their adversary.
Deep fake detectors are proving to be as good, if not better. Let’s keep it that way, for everyone’s sake. The biggest problem is catching it before it goes viral online, sparks an online mob, which crosses over into the real world and destroys your life permanently.
Below is a 5 min video of actual research by professors and AI experts working in this field.
It’s great to be creative for the right reasons, but there will always be those who are maligned and aim to hurt others. The constant tug of war between good and evil continues.
Below is a follow up, in depth article that reinforces some of the issues presented in the above video.
“How puny humans can spot devious deep fakes.”
“With deepfake videos, the subject often blinks far less than a normal person would.” As AI learns more, theses subtle abnormalities become harder for the average person to spot. “But there is a way to find out whether a video is a deepfake, ironically enough, by using AI.”
Read more at – Wired Article, by Alex Lee
Fashion, visual media and technology all merge and affect every single person.
– by Heidi M
Hmmstudio 