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Drawing on the experiential advantage, three studies were conducted with online clothing rental service users and potential consumers to assess how material and experiential framing impact consumer happiness and word of mouth (WOM) intentions, moderated by consumer materialism, across different consumption (i.e., buying and renting fashion products) and product types (i.e., renting instrumental vs. terminal products). The findings indicate that material framing enhances consumer perceptions of rented fashion products as reflective of their self-identity and increases product-self connections, thereby boosting happiness and WOM intentions. In contrast, experiential framing proves advantageous with instrumental products. This research expands our understanding of the boundary conditions and psychological processes of material vs. experiential framing and provides practical guidance for access-based fashion businesses to effectively communicate and present their services, aiming to achieve positive customer buzz and recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fashion knockoffs, which refer to the copycat behaviours of some brands in fashion apparel, are widely seen. It is commonly believed that the presence of fashion knockoffs harms the original-designer-label (ODL) product seller. Motivated by the industrial interviews and real-world observations, we build game-theoretical models to examine the impacts of fashion knockoffs on the ODL product supply chain and its agents with the consideration of risk attitudes. Explicitly, in the basic model, we consider a common manufacturer producing for both a knockoff product seller and a risk sensitive ODL product seller. The ODL product seller and the knockoff product seller make pricing decisions to optimise their own profits. We interestingly find that the presence of fashion knockoffs benefits the ODL product supply chain and its agents when (i) the ODL product seller is risk averse and the ratio of demand uncertainty is relatively small or (ii) the ODL product seller is risk seeking and the ratio of demand uncertainty is sufficiently large. The findings indicate that a risk averse (seeking) ODL product seller is more prone to benefit from the presence of fashion knockoffs when selling fashionable (classic) products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The erosion of high-end fashion brands by fast-fashion copycats (e.g., Zara, H&M) has stirred controversies and unceasing legal attempts to copyright fashion designs. Despite the purported negative impact of copycats, the effect of fashion copycats on high-end brands remains empirically unclear. Research on this topic has been impeded by the absence of a modeling framework to quantify fashion and by the lack of consumer-level data on fashion choices. The authors collect data on the posting behaviors of consumers on a fashion-specific social media platform and develop a dynamic structural model with deep learning image analytics to characterize consumers' choices of brands and styles. Results suggest that fast-fashion copycats can both harm high-end brands (a cannibalization effect) and help them (a market expansion effect). The authors also identify both static and dynamic mechanisms that contribute to the market expansion effect: The affordability of mixing copycats with high-end brands boosts the number of high-end items featured in posts by financially constrained consumers (a static mechanism). In addition, good styles from copycats enable users to build their popularity on social media over time, which may increase the users' valuation of high-end brands and reduce the users' future costs via sponsorship opportunities (dynamic mechanisms). The results could inform policy makers about the potential consequences of prohibiting fashion copycats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing rise of liquid consumption manifests in the growing popularity of ephemeral, access-based, and dematerialized forms of consumption that contrast with traditional solid forms of consumption characterized by possession and strong object relationships. The literature already presents a robust understanding of what makes liquid and solid consumption appealing to consumers. What has received less attention is the co-existence of liquid and solid consumption in consumers' lived experiences. Furthermore, the literature does not explain how the balance that consumers achieve between liquid and solid consumption fluctuates over time. This study illuminates the co-existence of liquid and solid consumption through a phenomenological inquiry of subscription-based clothing libraries, a context where solid personal possessions frequently mix with liquid accessed items in everyday use. Findings show that changes in consumer desire play a major role in consumer decisions to liquify or solidify consumption, especially over time. Overall, the study provides new theoretical insights into liquid and solid consumption, consumer desire, and burdens of access-based consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining trends in style and form with religious considerations, modest fashion has grown worldwide despite a series of intense controversies in Western countries from the mid-2010s. Building on the sociology of scandal, we identify three rhetorical strategies that structure nontarget majority consumers' responses to modest fashion, i.e. the place of religion in modern society, the defence of freedom, and the search for a harmonious society. Interestingly, the strategies of both the detractors and promoters of modest fashion appear to be built upon common values and norms, though at a collective vs. an individual level, respectively. This discursive dynamic allows the former to moralise their attack while neutralising the defence of the latter, thereby setting the public agenda, and leading to Muslims' marketplace exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the emerging use of AI in design, we investigate consumer responses to clothing marketed as AI-designed. We examine how the perceived scarcity of AI-designed clothing influences purchase intentions, with perceived monetary value acting as a mediator, and consider the moderating effects of fashion involvement. Data was collected via an online survey (n = 311) and analysed using SPSS 28.0. Participants were presented to an image of a jacket described as being created by AI technology and then answered a series of questions about the AI-designed jacket and about themselves. Results indicated that the scarcity of AI-designed clothing by itself may not significantly boost purchase intentions. However, fashion brands can capitalise on the perception of scarcity if the product is seen as offering good value for money. This effect is especially pronounced among consumers who have low involvement in fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe Westminster Menswear Archive (WMA) was established in 2016 as a specialized teaching and research collection focused on menswear. Addressing the historical underrepresentation of menswear in fashion archives, the WMA has rapidly grown into a vital resource for both academic and industry research. This article explores the archive’s origins, collection strategy, and its pivotal role in supporting design education, research, and industry engagement. Through key acquisitions, including garments from designers like Alexander McQueen and Massimo Osti, the WMA highlights menswear’s diverse evolution, from military uniforms to high fashion. The archive has also contributed to significant exhibitions, including Invisible Men (2019) and Umbro 100: Sportswear x Fashion (2024). This paper outlines the challenges the WMA faces, such as managing rapid collection growth and expanding digital access, while underscoring its critical role in shaping the future of menswear studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Proust's fascination with the dress as a site of transmaterial and transhistorical transformation. Descriptions of the Fortuny gown evoke its ability to conjure the visual and tactile qualities of ancient sculpture, architecture, and textile arts. The pleats and folds of the Fortuny become a medium through which the novel explores the dialectic between liquid and frozen temporalities, as well as the interplay between gender, materiality, and the aesthetics of the classical. Drawing on Ruskin, Stokes, Deleuze and others, the essay traces how the Fortuny functions as a complex creative material that transmutes evanescent life into lasting aesthetic impression. It also considers how the dress's enveloping folds allegorise dynamics of captation and fugitivity within Proust's narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outfit compatibility modeling is an increasingly important task that has garnered much attention from researchers, and graph neural network (GNN)-based methods have become the mainstream approach to address this task. Despite significant progress achieved by existing research, most of them have overlooked the importance of low-order connectivity in graph data and the relationship between individual fashion items and overall outfit style. To address this issue, we propose an outfit compatibility modeling scheme based on outfit-level relationships. This scheme consists of two key components: FCSA-GNN and GOR. The former consists of multiple layers of Fashion Items Relationship Propagation, where the weights of the graph edges are adapted based on the Category Co-occurrence Matrix. This approach avoids potential imbalances in the quantities of different fashion item categories within the dataset. Subsequently, by connecting the outputs of GNN at each layer, it explores the relationships between fashion item visual signals at different levels. The latter integrates the overall outfits style and further enhances the model's ability to learn a comprehensive representation of the overall outfits through the proposed outfit-level relationships. Experimental results on two real datasets, Polyvore outfit-ND and Polyvore outfit-D, demonstrate that our method outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods when considering only visual information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing a variety of numerical computations efficiently and, at the same time, in a portable fashion requires both an overarching design followed by a number of implementation strategies. All of these are exemplified below as we present transitioning the PLASMA numerical library from relying on dependence-driven large tasks to achieving utilization of fine grain tasking and offload to hardware accelerators while keeping its core dependence sets: OpenMP source code pragmas and runtime for most system-level functionality and basic low-level numerical kernels provided directly by hardware vendors or open source projects with vendor contributions. We also present new algorithmic methods and their efficient parallel implementations including fine grained tasking for eigen-spectrum slicing and offload for mixed-precision eigenvalue refinement. We provide performance, scaling, and numerical results showing sizable gains over the available solutions from either the open source and vendor-provided packages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on an (auto)ethnographic study of a group of freelance fashion professionals, known as 'fashion agents', with a particular focus on their relationship to time. It aims to elucidate the temporalities that permeate their work lives and shape their subjectivities, which I coin as anticipatory subjectivities. Such subjectivities, I posit, are emblematic of the conditions of flexibilisation, precarity and hopeful investment in the future characteristic of contemporary cultural industries and, more broadly, late capitalist knowledge economies. I propose that agents' life-worlds are permeated by a promissory regime – i.e., living in anticipation of constantly deferred, adjourned and unsecured rewards. Such a regime produces subjectivities that are premised on a hopeful emotional investment in the future, coupled with a preparedness for, and a capacity to navigate, incalculable risks. Another feature of the 'timescapes' that agents have to negotiate is the simultaneity of multiple fluid, unstructured and often conflicting temporalities and tempos, which requires a particular kind of time-competence. Finally, the article also foregrounds the importance, in agents' temporal orientations, of kairos : the right, opportune moment. Such a moment is normally perceived as being just about to happen; yet, it cannot be orchestrated or precipitated. As a result, one of agents' key temporal experiences is that of waiting, which de-subjectivises them and inhibits their capacity to act. Together, these time-orientations – anticipation, managing multiple temporalities and a hopeful waiting for kairos – underpin and foster subjectivities and forms of affective labour that sustain the cultural industries; they are also emblematic of the temporal conditions of late capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventions that draw inspirations from non-Western culture to create new designs have been generalised and used as a design development method in contemporary fashion. However, discussions on appropriation in fashion become urgent when minority cultures are being exploited with an unintended image and commercialisation. This study analysed formative characteristics of four non-Korean brand collections that used hanbok as a motif and presented criteria for distinguishing cultural appropriation from borrowing. The results included the following three attributes: partial application of hanbok structure, use of hanbok's formative elements deprived of functional aspect, and juxtaposition of hanbok with other Asian dresses. We examined these findings as cultural appropriation or borrowing based on respect for the traditional dress and practical compensation for the community. Consequently, this study found partial to extensive cultural appropriation in reproducing hanbok elements superficially without sufficient narrative and in mixing hanbok with sartorial elements of other Asian cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes and advocates for applied STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education to solve a low interest and retention in STEM college majors among high school students, especially those from underserved backgrounds. Applied STEM emphasises the practical application of STEM concepts and principles to familiar subjects such as fashion and entrepreneurship to increase students' interest and their intention to pursue college careers in STEM fields. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of an experiential Applied STEM Camp developed in this study and attended by 120 high school students. A series of paired sample t-tests show that participants' knowledge, interest, and intentions to enrol in a STEM-related college major have increased after the camp. Analysis of participants' reflections on the camp experiences further supports the statistical results. The research findings are important for recruiting high school students to pursue applied STEM college careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study assessed the relationship between social media use and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). We calculated the prevalence of BDD in our sample and explored factors that may be associated with BDD. Various factors that we explored include sociodemographic characteristics, body image perceptions, and specific social media platforms used. The key focus of our study is understanding the impact of social media on mental health, specifically in the context of BDD. Methods: This was a cross-sectional online survey that included the standardized Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ). Data on social media use were collected through self-reported usage patterns. Statistical analysis was conducted to identify associations. Results: Increased overall social media use was associated with BDD (p = 0.030). The prevalence of BDD in our sample was 1.8%. Age, being single and being a student were associated with BDD, with p values of 0.004, 0.023, and < 0.001, respectively. BDD was associated with comparing one's body image with that of people on social media (p = 0.001). BDD was associated with judging other people based on their appearance (p < 0.001). Using social media in the fields of celebrities (p = 0.020), fashion (p = 0.025), music and songs (p < 0.001) were associated with BDD. Conclusions: Increased social media use is associated with BDD, but different patterns of social media use may affect this relationship, indicating the need for further research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research examines how a temporal dimension of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) fashion style—consistent (vs. variable) fashion—influences stakeholders' perceptions of CEO competence. Based on the temporal aspect of attribution theory, we hypothesize that stakeholders perceive those CEOs who are consistent in their clothing across various occasions as more competent than CEOs who do not portray consistency. We also consider CEO gender a key moderator of the link between fashion consistency and perceived competence. Based on gender stereotypes and relatively unclear rules about women's clothing within professional settings, we hypothesize that the enhancement of perceived competence from a consistent fashion style is mitigated for female CEOs. Furthermore, by applying a zero‐sum belief in time management to CEOs' clothing decisions, we hypothesize that perceived work engagement mediates the "gender" moderation. Three studies, including a survey and two scenario‐based experiments in which we manipulate fashion consistency and CEO gender, largely supported the hypotheses. The results emphasize the importance for CEOs to strategically manage visual cues, like fashion style, focusing on either their consistency or variability when interacting with stakeholders across different occasions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to understand the sustainable consumption behavior based on psychological ownership and social influence theory. The study used SPSS using AMOS and PROCESS SPSS Macro to determine the overall fit of the measurement model and examining the hypotheses. The study tested the relationship among self-expressiveness (SE), environmental commitment (EC), psychological ownership (PO), social influence (SI), fashion consciousness (FC), and sustainable consumption behavior (SCB) in the context of apparel. The results show that an increase in self-expressiveness and environmental commitment enhances SCB. The results of the study confirmed the mediating role of the psychological ownership and social influence on SCB. Further, the role of fashion consciousness as a moderator was established between self-expressiveness and SCB via psychological ownership. However, fashion consciousness was not found to moderate the relationship between environmental commitment on SCB via social influence. Valuable contributions were made to the marketing literature by identifying the impact of self-expressiveness and environmental commitment on the SCB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic life changes to consumers. From the perspective of fashion shopping, this study aims to provide an understanding of how consumers have coped with the pandemic to maintain their physical and mental well-being. Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing an observational research method, this study extracted and analyzed text data from Twitter, focusing on fashion consumption-related tweets posted by consumers in May 2020. Content analysis was employed to reveal consumers' coping strategies during the pandemic. Findings: Through fashion shopping, consumers have employed various strategies to cope with the problems incurred during the pandemic as well as the associated emotional stress. Specifically, problem-focused strategies included both active coping and restraint coping. Emotion-focused strategies included positive reinterpretation, acceptance, mental disengagement and seeking social support. Originality/value: Theoretically, this study provides empirical evidence for the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) Inventory in the context of using fashion shopping as a venue to cope with a pandemic. Managerial implications are also provided for the fashion industry as well as human service providers to better prepare for future public health crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractMetaphor is a popular pedagogical tool to help learners understand unfamiliar concepts, but its affective and interactional qualities remain underexplored compared to its cognitive benefits. This study investigates how metaphor may enhance affective engagement within introductory statistics education for linguistics students. As previous research tends to rely on delayed and self-reported data, this study employs a mixed-methods approach that combines real-time physiological measures of engagement with feedback through surveys and interviews. It compares metaphorical and literal instructional styles for teaching simple linear regression, focusing on: i) differences in teacher and learner skin conductance levels, ii) teacher-learner synchrony through skin conductance concordance, iii) the relationship between physiological measures and affect-related survey responses, and iv) learner reflections on their experiences. Results show that the metaphorical style is associated with higher engagement levels and stronger teacher-learner synchrony, affirming the role of metaphors in enhancing collaborative learning when elaborated over time in spontaneous interactive fashion. However, the qualitative data reveal nuanced learner perceptions, highlighting the importance of clearly communicating the scope of metaphor use. This study contributes to understanding the interplay between affective and cognitive engagement in metaphorical learning, offering practical recommendations for its effective implementation in complex subjects like statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to the call for circular transition, the Dutch and French governments aspire to achieve a fully circular economy by developing a transitional agenda in various sectors, including fashion and construction. The two countries are among the top 10 waste generators in the European Union (EU), while the two sectors--fashion and construction--are the largest polluters in the EU. The aim of this study, and its main contribution, is to harmonize circular design principles, which vary by sector into common types, and identify the circular design principle that balances the sustainability dimensions the most. This responds to research gaps that merely describe these design principles applicable to different sectors but which are also silent on which achieves sustainability balance. Using multicriteria decision analysis, selected case studies of companies in the two sectors and countries were scored and ranked according to environmental, economic, and social sustainability indicators. The case projects were selected based on the circular design principle that the enterprises were applying. These principles were standardized for the two sectors to come up with five distinct types, namely, design for (i) biobased materials, (ii) service/adaptability, (iii) disassembly, (iv) waste and material recovery, and (v) longevity. Three forms of triangulation were used to achieve reliability, validity, and equivalence of the findings: (i) data--by doubling the size of the sample cases to 40 establishments from 20, (ii) investigator--by having the authors score the projects separately, and (iii) method--by using two objective weighting methods in scoring the criteria. These techniques resulted in similar rankings of the cases in terms of triple bottom-line scores per design principle. Designing for biobased materials turned out to achieve the most balance. The case projects were also compared regarding performance in achieving the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), which companies use to integrate sustainability with business. Circularity in fashion and construction primarily targets responsible consumption, production, and climate action. A tertiary SDG was life on water and access to clean water for fashion and life on land and sustainable cities for construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAuxetic materials are characterized by a negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR), which expands when stretched and shrinks when compressed. Due to the synclastic curvature of auxetics, they have good formability. These properties make them useful in applications requiring formability, such as composites, fashion and clothing, medical, protective, and sports fields. In this research, auxetic weft-knitted fabrics based on foldable structures were knitted. The effect of structural parameters including fabric pattern, yarn count, and loop length on the formability of auxetic weft-knitted fabrics was investigated and compared to plain weft-knitted fabric (Jersey). Auxetic fabrics with three distinct patterns and three different loop lengths were knitted using polyester yarns of varying three counts. Then, the formability experiment was conducted using the hemisphere mold, and the forming energy of fabric samples was obtained. The results demonstrated that auxetic fabrics exhibit superior formability to conventional (non-auxetic) fabrics, attributed to their synclastic curvature. Among the auxetic fabrics, those with larger zigzag angles, finer yarn counts, and larger loop lengths showed higher formability. These findings enhance the potential applications of auxetic fabrics in various industries such as medical and protective, emphasizing their ability to conform to complex shapes with minimal wrinkling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fibula appeared in the Levant during the late second millennium bce and gradually replaced the toggle pin as the common accessory to fasten clothing. In this contribution, we trace the dissemination of fibulae in the southern Levant, pinpointing its chronology, the development of local variants and significant locales of consumption. The analysis of site-specific case studies suggests that the fibula was worn first by elites of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah as part of a new fashion, and became popular among the members of the colonial society under the Assyrian empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" reviews an exhibition at the Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art, focusing on conservation, embodiment, and preservation in fashion. The exhibition offers a sensorial experience through soundscapes, visual projections, and recreated smells, inviting visitors to engage with the garments in new ways. By showcasing fragile garments in a flat display, the exhibition prompts contemplation on the ephemeral nature of fashion and the role of conservation in preserving its materiality. The exhibition also explores themes of nature and cycles, presenting a complex and immersive journey through the natural world. [Extracted from the article]

Image denoising aims to restore a clean image from a noisy image. Traditional methods utilizing convolutional neural networks (CNN) for denoising are trained using pairs of noisy and clean images to comprehend the transformation from a noisy image to a clean one. However, the acquisition of such image pairs in real‐world scenarios presents a challenge. Hence, numerous self‐supervised denoising techniques have been developed that do not require clean images for training. This study demonstrates that a straightforward loss design, concentrating on variance, can effectively train a standard CNN denoiser in a self‐supervised fashion. A novel theoretical framework is introduced for training a basic CNN denoising model using three constraints: mean, variance, and augmentation. The variance constraint is crucial as it prevents the trained model from converging to trivial solutions such as identity or zero mapping. This theory provides valuable insights for the development of new self‐supervised denoising methods. Furthermore, a method that applies this theory to proposed dual networks is developed, which consist of two standard CNN models predicting both the clean image and the noise. This approach enhances model capacity during training while minimizing computational costs during inference. This method exemplifies the implementation of the variance constraint and introduces a data constraint for dual networks. Notably, the proposed method only assumes the presence of additive white noise, irrespective of the noise distribution. This minimal assumption enhances the model's robustness against noise with complex or unknown distributions in real‐world distorted images. Experimental results indicate that the proposed Noise2Variance method exhibits commendable performance on peak signal noise ratio and structural similarity metrics compared to existing self‐supervised denoising techniques. Visual comparison of results further substantiates the efficacy of the proposed method. A comparison of model complexity reveals that the method is efficient among the compared CNN‐based techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the exhibition "Sargent and Fashion" at Tate Britain, which explores John Singer Sargent's use of fashion in his portraits to express identity and personality. The exhibition showcases how Sargent manipulated dress to fashion his portraits across thematic sections, emphasizing his attention to detail in depicting garments. However, the article critiques the exhibition for focusing too much on contemporary fashion and not delving into the negotiations between Sargent and his sitters in styling their outfits. [Extracted from the article]

As technology and science expand from the palms of our hands into the sleeves of our shirts, the future of fashion textiles becomes almost unimaginable. The emerging technology related to the integration of the IoT and AI has resulted in intelligent clothing in the fashion retail industry. Intelligent clothing technology can be defined as a result of transformation of fabric into digital technology by bridging fashion and the IoT with newly developed material technologies. However, recent studies on intelligent clothing have been few and far between, and scholars have focused more on organizations' intention to adopt intelligent clothing technology rather than customers' intention to use it. The current research fills this gap by applying the Hedonic Information Systems Acceptance Model (HISAM) to determine the practical and aesthetic factors influencing consumers' propensity to use intelligent clothing. Furthermore, technology readiness has been investigated as a technology-related personality trait acting as a moderator in the research model. Accordingly, a quantitative survey strategy was undertaken and responses from a representative sample of 836 Sri Lankan retail consumers were analysed using Smart PLS-SEM. The results reveal that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment positively influence intention to use artificially intelligent clothing, whilst technology readiness interestingly moderates their impact on the intention to use AI clothing. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for marketing scholars and practitioners and point to several future research directions as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the level of acceptability of the developed learning modules in Introduction to Dressmaking and Sewing Machine Operations at Rizal Technological University during the school year 2023-2024. The researcher used the descriptive type of research with diagnostic test as the tool used in the identification of the least mastered topics in Introduction to Dressmaking and Sewing Machine Operations and a survey questionnaire as the main data gathering instrument. The questionnaire focused on the level of acceptability of the developed learning modules in Introduction to Dressmaking and Sewing Machine Operations in terms of objectives, content, visual design, and assessment. The least mastered topics that were used as basis for the development of the learning modules in Introduction to Dressmaking and Sewing Machine Operations was identified based on the results of the diagnostic test conducted by the researcher to the second year GFD Students of Rizal Technological University. The instructor and student respondents evaluated the developed learning modules in Introduction to Dressmaking and Sewing Machine Operations as to objectives, content, visual design, and assessment with grand weighted mean rating of 3.61, verbally interpreted as Very High Level (VHL) leading to no significant difference between the assessment of the two groups of respondents on the developed learning modules. The comments and suggestions offered by the respondents were for the improvement of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the two decades since the end of Suharto regime in Indonesia, two apparently distinct public industries have emerged in tandem: gendered forms of religious style, glossed as modest fashion, and legal efforts to hold citizens accountable for theft, glossed as corruption. Many of the most high-profile anti-corruption cases in the past decade have brought these two fields into semiotic interaction, as female defendants increasingly deploy forms of facial cover associated with extreme religious piety to signal humility and shame when appearing in court, in the process complicating the relationship between religious semiotics and criminality. Analyzing how and why these two genres of political communication have intersected in the past decade, and to what effects, requires situating these shifts in the context of dense aesthetic archives in which the spectacularity inherent to fashion resonates with the unique impulses of a post-authoritarian political landscape in which uncovering secrets is especially alluring. I argue that the hermeneutic impulses motivating popular fascination with criminal style, often circulated via social media, open new analyses of the ethical relationship between beauty and justice. Building on the scholarship on transparency and on the human face, I argue that putting gendered religious style at the center of the analytical frame—from religious self-fashioning to court appearances, and as forms of political protest—reveals the ethical impulses behind seeing and being seen, and the faciality of scandal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When analyzing African American sneaker culture's ascension into American popular and global culture, one must consider its place in literature. How did sneaker culture go from the basketball courts and the bustling streets of urban America to the pages of books? In brief, the material circumstances of a society that subscribes to African American sneaker culture reflects in the literature the same society produces. For example, writers documenting the African American experience within urban environments, wittingly and unwittingly documented sneaker culture's existence and manifestation. This is evident in Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give (2017). Is Angie Thomas the next Tupac Shakur? Heavily influenced by his work, her work too has entered academic settings. Will sneaker culture overcome the taboos surrounding it? The topics addressed in The Hate U Give (2017) are as controversial in today's political climate as topics addressed by Shakur in the past. Furthermore, wrapping a tale of police brutality inside a text that glorifies sneaker culture is not tailored to the majority. Like "All Eyez On Me" Thomas's text speaks to the plight of the African American. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fashion is now seen as a form of identity associated with everyday life in human society. However, it did not originate as a term with this definition. Instead the concept has been polished through the course of history. The transition from clothing as political tool, to fashion as identity, in the Chinese context did not happen overnight. This study unpacks the complex transition that not only unfolded through vital periods and various iconic events in China, but also involved and impacted upon individuals in their daily lives. Drawing on historical records in clothing/costume museums in Beijing and Shanghai, the study investigates the shift from premodern clothing toward an understanding of modern Chinese identity and clothing. In particular, the article focuses on the multiple interpretations of hybrid dress in Shanghai during the transitional period from late Qing to Republican China. The research finds that the evolving of identity of fashion was embedded in the changing identity of wearers as well as other participants in the fashion chain, which are interlocked and mutually reinforced each other in this socio-political cultural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the realm of traditional Korean fashion/textile practice, known as traditional nubi and Tongyeong nubi (t/T nubi), and re-engineers it from a contemporary fashion perspective within the framework of cultural sustainability. Drawing upon the systemic design approach, the project employed specific activities to trace, decode, and reconfigure t/T nubi following the phases of exploration, reframing, creation, and catalyzation, aiming for innovative design in the contemporary fashion space. The paper emphasizes a holistic and iterative process, based on learning the practice of t/T nubi from artisans, understanding and recontextualizing the future envisaged for t/T nubi, and delivering creative outcomes. Utilizing the interpretative model of cultural sustainability through craft, the study also analyzed the outcomes, identifying impacts such as rethinking craft culture, decoding craft roots, and influencing craft culture. Striking a balance between safeguarding the practice and fostering creativity was challenging; however, the approach serves as a valuable reference for designers and/or artisans of traditional craft practice, bridging their knowledge and design thinking process with the enduring sustainability of this heritage craft. It also demonstrates the potential for designers to leverage traditional craft practices to drive innovation in design, production, and business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fashion and Textile Museum in London recently held an exhibition called "The Biba Story, 1964–1975," which explored the impact of the iconic London boutique, Biba. The exhibition showcased the Art Deco-inspired style of Biba, with its gold and black logo, curvy framed cut-outs, and dusty purple wall color. Visitors to the exhibition shared personal connections and memories of Biba, making it a nostalgic experience. The exhibition traced the history of Biba, from its beginnings as a direct-to-consumer mail-order business to its brick-and-mortar stores and eventual closure due to financial difficulties. The exhibition featured clothing, textiles, makeup, and even food products associated with the Biba brand. It highlighted the accessibility and affordability of Biba's fashion, as well as its influence on the London fashion scene and its association with famous musicians, actors, and models. The exhibition successfully captured the ephemeral nature of Biba and celebrated its lasting impact on fashion and lifestyle brands. [Extracted from the article]

The exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022) reexamined the British fashion designer's oeuvre by contextualizing select Alexander McQueen designs within art history. Juxtaposing permanent collection works that spanned media, eras, and cultures with McQueen's fashions, curators explored the cyclical nature of inspiration against the backdrop of appropriation in art history. As evidenced in his powerful collections, McQueen's artistic process ranged from thoughtful research and examination to Eurocentric revisions that were both critical of and at times complicit in the legacies of colonialism. This analysis of McQueen's artistic intent and process initially sought to uncover new frameworks for understanding the designer; however, the thematic conversations between encyclopedic objects also yielded new and unexpected insights for the museum's non-dress and textile art collections. Investigating McQueen's fashion collections through a broader art-historical lens enabled significant and mutually beneficial dialogues between both dress and non-dress art historians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the exhibition "Fashion Forward: Disruption through Design" held at the Tūhura Otago Museum in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand from March 26 to October 17, 2021. The exhibition aimed to celebrate the iD Dunedin Fashion show and explore the connections between contemporary and historic fashion. It featured garments from emerging designers from around the world, as well as pieces from the museum's collection. The exhibition was organized into sections based on themes such as escapism, gender, illusion, reinterpretation, sculpture, transformation, and wellbeing. The goal was to reframe fashion and attract new and diverse audiences. The article also highlights the designers' concerns about sustainability and diversity in the fashion industry. [Extracted from the article]

The conservation field has recently experienced a significant paradigm shift called "peoples-based" conservation, which centers collaboration with communities for whom cultural heritage has meaning. This turn is so significant that it has the possibility of upending core preservation practices of dress museology, and yet, few dress studies professionals might be aware that this shift has even occurred, or that it has a name. This article describes the transformative move in conservation ethics towards peoples-based approaches and points to potential impacts this shift might have on the preservation of dress artifacts. One specific fashion museological practice—the prohibition against the wearing of historic dress—is explored as an example of how this shift towards peoples-based conservation approaches opens exciting opportunities for dress professionals, empowering them to consider how collaborative preservation and interpretive strategies might sustain and even enhance the meaning of the collection objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Little Black Dress: A Radical Fashion" is a book edited by Georgina Ripley that explores the history and significance of the iconic Little Black Dress (LBD). The book aims to disrupt the notion of the LBD as a static fashion classic and instead examines its complexity and power. Through seven essay-form chapters, the book delves into topics such as feminism, sustainability, postcolonialism, and postmodernism, offering a critical and academic perspective on the LBD. The book features contributions from multiple authors and includes illustrations and quotes from industry insiders. While the book provides a comprehensive exploration of the LBD, it lacks personal accounts from ordinary people who have a long-standing relationship with their LBDs. [Extracted from the article]

"Stalking Shakespeare: A Memoir of Madness, Murder and My Search for the Poet Beneath the Paint" by Lee Durkee is a book that explores the question of Shakespeare's identity through an investigation of his portraits. The author, a fiction writer, interviews curators and uses various scientific methods to examine the portraits. Durkee presents a range of Shakespeare portraits, some of which are identified as Shakespeare but may not be, and others that are not identified as Shakespeare but have been altered to resemble him. The book raises questions about Shakespeare's education, knowledge, and abilities, challenging the traditional narrative surrounding the authorship question. [Extracted from the article]