Abstract

The activity of designing fashion is intimately connected to the bodies of others. While the garments designers conceive enclose wearers’ bodies in direct physical contact, those garments also create opportunities for participation, social connection and inclusion as well as possibilities for amorous encounter, novelty and self-expression. Drawing on the outcomes of a research project investigating somatic experiences in fashion, this article examines the notion of embodied empathy in design practice. The article addresses the potential for fashion designing to be understood and enacted as an empathic practice; one that is grounded in a sensitivity to the embodied experiences of others. In doing so, it advances the notion of body style, a dynamic design lens for fashion that foregrounds movement and somatic experience, based in the unfolding interaction between fashion garments and bodies in co-creative acts of wearing. The article argues such an embodied orientation for fashion design provides an opportunity for designers to redirect their design practices beyond appearances to enable and support bodily comportments. This article raises the question of embodied empathy in the context of current discourses on ethical fashion and responds to the following questions: How might an increased sensitivity to the embodied experiences of wearers shift fashion design practice? And following that, what might be the outcomes of such a shift in orientation?

摘要

设计时尚的活动与他人的身体密切相关。虽然服装设计师构想将穿着者的身体包裹在直接的身体接触中，但这些服装也创造了参与、社交联系和包容的机会，以及浪漫邂逅、新奇和自我表达的可能性。本文借鉴一项调查时尚躯体体验的研究项目的成果，探讨了设计实践中具身同理心的概念。这篇文章探讨了时装设计被理解为一种移情实践的可能性；一种基于对他人具体经历的敏感性。在这样做的过程中，它推进了身体风格的概念，一种以运动和身体体验为基础的时尚动态设计镜头，基于时尚服装和身体之间在共同创造的穿着行为中展开的互动。文章认为，时装设计的这种具身化定位为设计师提供了一个机会，可以将他们的设计实践重新定向到外观之外，以实现和支持身体行为。本文在当前道德时尚话语的背景下提出了具身同理心的问题，并回答了以下问题：对穿戴者具身体验的敏感性增加如何改变时装设计实践？之后，这种方向转变的结果可能是什么？文章认为，时装设计的这种具身化定位为设计师提供了一个机会，可以将他们的设计实践重新定向到外观之外，以实现和支持身体行为。本文在当前道德时尚话语的背景下提出了具身同理心的问题，并回答了以下问题：对穿戴者具身体验的敏感度增加会如何改变时装设计实践？之后，这种方向转变的结果可能是什么？文章认为，时装设计的这种具身化定位为设计师提供了一个机会，可以将他们的设计实践重新定向到外观之外，以实现和支持身体行为。本文在当前道德时尚话语的背景下提出了具身同理心的问题，并回答了以下问题：对穿戴者具身体验的敏感性增加如何改变时装设计实践？之后，这种方向转变的结果可能是什么？提高对穿着者具体体验的敏感度会如何改变时装设计实践？之后，这种方向转变的结果可能是什么？提高对穿着者具体体验的敏感度会如何改变时装设计实践？之后，这种方向转变的结果可能是什么？