Conceptual Fashion
Who Decides the Beauty of Clothes?
'Who decides the beauty of clothes?' asks who (or what) — among designers, critics, media, society, culture, or the wearer themselves — determines the criteria for the beauty of clothing. In conceptual fashion, 'beauty' is presented as a question or concept beyond traditional harmony or function, but where does the authority to judge that beauty lie? Through this question, we explore the subjectivity of beauty, power structures, and the nature of fashion criticism.
The criteria for beauty are decided by experts such as designers, critics, and media. Ordinary wearers are beings who follow those criteria.
Beauty is determined by individual feeling, experience, and context. Everyone's judgment is equally valid.
Criteria for beauty differ by culture, era, and society. Universal beauty does not exist; it should be judged within each cultural context.
Beauty is generated within the relationships between designer and wearer, wearer and viewer, society and individual. There is no fixed criterion; it emerges through dialogue.
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When you feel 'this clothing is beautiful,' what is the basis for that judgment?
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When someone says 'those clothes don't suit you,' how do you feel?
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Do the clothes that fashion magazines and influencers say are 'beautiful now' match the clothes you feel are 'beautiful'?
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Why do you think there are people who feel beauty in conceptual clothing that is rated as 'not beautiful'?
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Have you ever felt that the 'criteria for beauty' do not match your body or skin color?
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Do you think 'beauty' changes with era or culture? Or is it universal?
This theme is about quietly re-questioning who holds the authority to judge beauty. It is a space for dialogue that respects each person's sense rather than seeking correct answers.
- Concept
- The idea, philosophy, or narrative embedded in clothing. Includes the designer's intent and the meaning projected by the wearer. In conceptual fashion, this concept is the core of the garment.
- Semiotics
- The study of clothing as signs. Clothing functions as a 'signifier of meaning' interpreted between wearer, viewer, and culture.
- Functionalism
- The position that limits clothing's role to 'protecting the body' or 'practicality.' Beauty and meaning are secondary, affirming the absence of concept.
- Embodiment
- The lived experience arising from clothing's connection to the body. Even without concept, the act of wearing may generate meaning.
- Cultural Code
- The implicit meaning clothing holds within a specific culture. Jeans = casual, black = mourning, etc. The social context that makes absence of concept difficult.
- Degree Zero
- Roland Barthes' concept of 'degree zero.' The ideal state where clothing says nothing. Suggests the possibility of concept-less clothing.
Regarding the clothes you are wearing today, please tell me one reason why you feel they are 'beautiful.' On whose criteria is that based?
If there were no 'criteria for beauty' at all in this world, how would your clothing choices and way of life change?
Looking at the other person's clothing, quietly imagine 'the beauty of these clothes might be decided by the person wearing them' and try speaking to them.
- Who should judge the beauty of AI-generated clothing, and how?
- Is continuing to wear clothes that were told 'don't suit you' self-assertion or self-destruction?
- In an era when criteria for beauty are diversifying, is fashion criticism necessary?
- Is it correct to judge the beauty of clothing by 'price' or 'brand'?
- About experiences of being excluded from 'criteria for beauty' due to physical disability or age
- Does the 'beauty' of conceptual fashion need to be conveyed to anyone other than the wearer?