Sonic Fashion Library
Vidmina Stasiulyte
Aural experience and sound thinking, in contrast to visual experience and image thinking, change the fundamental manifestation and perception of a dressed body: from looking and being seen to listening and being heard. Looking at and listening to a body that is wearing high heels are fundamentally different experiences. Thus, the dressed body from an auditory perspective is understood as a dynamic, temporal form, rather than static as usually, it is in visual representation. The research is revising fashion by considering fashion items from a different, sonic, perspective. Where sound is considered not a negative aspect but a potential source for new theories and methods to evolve. Where sound is presented not as a secondary quality of the designed object but as the main idea generator. While investigating the sonic expressions towards acoustically oriented design methods, research builds up the foundations for non-visual aesthetics and opens up a new thinking space for designing with sound matter. This dissertation contributes to the discussion around ‘designerly ways of knowing’ (Cross, 2001) by suggesting how a dressed body could be seen as a sonic expression, therefore, generating multiple perspectives on complex design space.
Sonic Fashion Library (SFL) is a part of the research practice, it is a digital tool for learning sonic expressions of fashion. SFL consists of 400 sound records of various fashion items: fabrics, materials, clothing, accessory, footwear, and ensembles. You are invited to explore the fashion from a sonic perspective: Sonic Fashion Library
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 642328