Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis

Eicher Joanne b, Geczy Adam, Karaminas Vicki, (eds) (2012) Fashion & Art, Breg.

The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it”, said Diana Vreeland a noted fashion columnist and editor.

The author Joanne B. Eicher presents a historical and lively trend of differences present in Fashion as part of body and Art. According to author the study of human being in relation to physical character, environment & social relation & culture point of view dressed body relates with art & fashion because body provides cadre for dress in fashion & art.  In painting, photography & sculpture in these visual art nude bodies in some culture viewed idealized & in fashion runways or in photographs body is covered but in western fashion (swimwear) coverage is minutest. In twenty-first century in  fashion cities runways collections  the meager apparel increasing .where fashion is not only wear clothing but it include more than clothing –accessories, painting, skin fragrant these creates the senses in fashion. For presenting body with cross-culture perspective compare art & fashion. Eicher define body, dress, fashion .Body: physical form of a human, Dress: Remodeling & supplements for on body, Fashion: Shared taste by many for short time. Variant phase of current taste on fashion is beyond body & dress in aspects of other things like food, automobiles & architecture. 

Making valid confessions the authors pokes into the history conveniently to validate his argument effusively with proper illustrations. When he talks about the women being depicted in white garments in profusely white smoke generated of sperms of whales, he tries to establish the basic identity of visual art which includes dress as an object to satisfy the canvas whereas fashion where the modifications are made to the dress in order to bring charm and beauty to the object that is the body.

Connecting fashion through how a body is structured and constituted seems a little non-compromising. Since a normal dress which might appear completely tight on a fit body might be visually not fitting and loose over a slim body. But the person with a fit body might comprehend the non-fashion of his attire on-the-other-hand the lean person might feel exuberant with his fashion statement. Sometimes mere body cannot surmise the essence of fashion as it ventures, fashion is also perception which changes from time to time, period to period, person to person and culture to culture.

Rather sticking to the notional concept of body and fashion would only restrict the mind to a narrow path of creativity. Understanding the virtues of fashion needs fathoming of cultures, religions, lifestyles, temperature and many more which the author fails to address during his comparison as these elements are an integral part of fashion which cannot be eluded.

Right from the beginning, assessing the body and dress individually but together as a unity skillfully transmitted the authors’ message with elegance and gives the reader a holistic picture. The way author manages to evade the differences through examples and explains the finer details is enriching and erases any ambiguities left. His explanation of importance of dress you wear appropriately to an environment and place is logically driven fashion statement rather than an obdurate vision.

The author elaborates the body, dress and fashion but keeps focus to the body, backing this with importance of body which is actually a stage or a platform where one carries his or he clothing, accessories and other enhancements. It is the body which enables to bring in the glamour and the style to a dress. Authors words suggest that an extraordinary emphasis is given to the element of body which has been taken as the base of an art, be it the clothing or a piercing.

The author puts forward a definition for dress which comes in very close association with a body implicitly. As per the definition of the dress, it has been realized as a lively thing which has the capability to communicate, without words, and more specifically, about the person who has it.

The space and time factors bring and explain the difference between the body in art and body in fashion, them being fixed in art, and dynamic in fashion.

The author puts forward the example from 1955 where Dovima wore a Christian Dior gown for a shoot in front of the circus elephants. The classic capture turned iconic and was taken by Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.

The author talks of Ingrid Loschek, who talks about the emphasis he gives to dimension of space in ‘When Clothes Become Fashion’. Ingrid emphasizes the dimension of space in defining the body as spatial form. It is further declared that skin represents the demarcation line between the inside and the outside.

Later, the author discusses the criticality of various aspects of the human body toward analyzing its relationship to a dress. This applies to both, the scenario of fashion as well as art, provided with a crossover point. That is what forms the color, conformation, the textures etc.  Similarly significant is the gender when taken in account with body form. After all, gender is important to the artist as well as designer from the point of view of interpretation.

Conclusion  

Different roles plays by human body in various aspects but body has a little non-compromising structured. The slender alleyway of creativity in body & fashion would only restrict mind. The element of body given by astonishing stress which has been considering the base of art be it clothing. Relationship with fashion & art scrutinize by body. From the point of view of interpretation sexual identity is important when talk about body to the artist & as well as for designer.