Intimate Musings
When I first attended university and completed my undergraduate studies, I studied Contour Fashion, a course dedicated to the study and development of intimate apparel and sportswear. This course gave me the opportunity to explore more than just the aesthetics and function of garments. It facilitated opportunities to explore the contextual side of not just the garments but also the industry itself. My fascination for the contextual side has only increased. The aspects of history it can reveal and, in turn, what historical discoveries reveal about these types of garments create a revealing story of society and culture.
The history of intimate apparel is a fascinating and multifaceted journey that has shaped and been shaped by a range of developments. the culture of lingerie has altered, and the garments themselves have evolved, shifted, and in some cases stagnated. Although intimates are part of fashion I believe they deserve to be considered individually, while the changes is outerwear have heavily influence not just the functional requirements of intimate but also the aesthetic desire they are still unique garments which have shaped and supported the world from beneath, often hidden but always present.
Often, these types of garments are viewed as fetish objects or attached to intimate practices, while they do have a place there as this has been an influence. There is more to them than this. They are everyday garments worn by a range of culture for different purpose in different ways to view them through one lens and not consider them in different contact overshadows the fact that they have been present within western society for hundreds of years and so are tied into our culture and history. They are are even sometime present in folklore and stories, especially in the visual interpretations, take for example the mermaid who, for modesty, is sometimes depicted wearing a shell bra, the princesses and queens in corset or the characters washing their intimates.
Even the idea of what we class as lingerie is it apparel, which preserves modesty by covering intimate areas? Is it what we wear underneath our outer clothing layer? Is it the items we wear to bed or in private? Or is it the items of clothing that we have been told we do not discuss in polite society? Weather intimates, underwear, night or lounge wear, or unmentionable. Our lingerie garments are a part of our live, they lay the foundations and evolve with us as we age and grow.
Lingerie through the years provide a unique lens into the societal sociocultural changes of each era, no to say that fashion in in general does not do this but intimate apparel reveals a hidden side to people, places and society. From materials and functionality all the way to aesthetics and occasion, there are so many stories that can be told through the apparel, which is usually hidden.
Currely, I am developing ranges of intimate apparel for digital fashion, it is an interesting development process. there is an element of pattern cutting knowledge coupled with the computer 3D modelling skill.
One of the most interesting challenges I am finding is surrounding the simplification of my contour design knowledge into a digital design. When I say simplified, I mean the aspect of thinking about trims, notions, and seams that are required in physical fashion, for fit and adjustment, but are arburtury and unnecessary elements in digital fashion, apart from for aesthetic or animation purposes. I am continuing to explore what is possible, codideeing making garments that transcend the physically impossiblities of the carbon world. And, of course, defining what intimate apparel is and if this definition holds true even in digital and phygital form.
