- Title
- Designing fashion identities: the influence of social media on representation
- Creator
- Barnard, Mieke
- Subject
- Fashion
- Subject
- Fashion -- Social aspects Fashion -- Forecasting Identity (Psychology)
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21790
- Identifier
- vital:29779
- Description
- Fashion visually communicates identity. The clothing one wears influences how others perceive and interact with one. The relationship between fashion and identity is important, since fashion communicates aspects of identity without verbal communication. Identity formation and influences would therefore also affect fashion choices. These fashion choices are referred to as fashion identities. Various aspects influence the development of identity. Social interaction and media are two of the main influencers. In contemporary society these two influencers have been combined through social media platforms. This leads to the research questions: “What influence does social media have on identity development?”, “What influence would social media have on fashion identities?” and “Could online fashion content be utilised as a guide in the fashion design process?” These research questions are addressed through both theoretical research and online questionnaire responses from participants. The study consists of two components, namely the theoretical component and a practical component. The two components support, inform and validate one another’s findings. The study found that multiple identity types (personal, social and role) collectively form a person’s identity. The multiplicity of identities makes the representation process unique. Fashion identity can represent each of the identity types, separately or collectively. Furthermore, social media’s fashion content influences online users’ fashion identity and could lead to follow-through purchasing. In order to test the theoretical findings, eight of the questionnaire participants were selected for the practical component. The researcher interpreted their questionnaire responses and fashion content from social media platforms they had submitted with the questionnaire. The analysis and interpretation were used to design eight sketch-ranges. From these eight, two ranges were selected for physical production. The eight participants were asked for feedback pertaining to whether the designs captured their fashion identity and communicated aspects of this identity. The responses affirmed that designs had the necessary appeal suggesting that online fashion content can be used as a guide to the design process, in order to encapsulate identity representation.
- Format
- xii, 155 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Arts
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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NMU School of Music, Art and Design
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