2021

VIDMINA STASIULYTE: SONIC POSSIBILITIES FOR INCLUSIVE FASHION

Fashion is primarily a visual ontology consisting of definitions, theories, and methods based on visual language. This research revises fashion by approaching it from a different—sonic—perspective wherein sound is considered not as a negative aspect but as a potential source of a new theory and facilitator of the evolution of new methods. Sound is thus used not as a secondary quality of designed objects but as the main idea-generator. 

© Vidmina Stasiulyte

The research opens new avenues for design thinking with ears rather than eyes. It explores clothing and fashion from the perspective of listening rather than seeing, sounding rather than showing, and is a form of rethinking and redefining fashion by starting with the statement that dress is sound. This research has implications for ways of thinking in design in relation to, e.g., diverse communities such as the visually impaired; thus, it opens a possibility for a more democratic and inclusive fashion.