Aesthetics
Fashion Studies I

Concept of beauty..

Beauty is the characteristic of a person,
place, object or idea that provides a
perceptual experience of pleasure,
meaning & satisfaction

a good looking person, place or
object is always perceived as more
beautiful than a shabby looking person,
place or object …..with respect to time,
place & environment

Although beauty exists naturally….but there’s always a
deliberate attempt by humans to beautify itself & the
environment around.
Much of it depends on
- the availability of resources
- utilitarian significance
- socio - cultural significance
- symbolic aspect

…beauty …beauty

the characterization of a person as beautiful is based on
inner beauty & outer beauty and is subjective in nature
inner beauty includes psychological factors like
personality, intelligence, grace ,charm,
elegance
outer beauty includes the physical factors like health,
youthfulness, complexion

Scarification….. Adornment…

Tatooing & Ornamentation then …

Tattooing now..
Body painting

Is beauty ?
• tattooing… adornment
• Shape .. form .. texture
• Use …function
• Feel ..emotion
or simply everything

Beauty exists in everything
nature to
around us….from
architecture …to
….then what is the source
art….to human
of beauty ? beings…. to painting
to apparel…
it is imbibed within..

The human tendency to look beautiful has existed
from the past….
The context may have changed with
time but the content remains the
same…beautification

As a cultural creation beauty has been extremely
commercialized.
Everybody wants to look good...feel
good.

What do you understand by
aesthetics ?

….going by the dictionary meaning
Aesthetics is the study of beauty & its
appreciation

In other words it is also…
new way of seeing and
the
perceiving the world

You may like it..
or simply don’t like it…

You may appreciate it….or may not !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would you like to
wear it?

What’s your reaction ?

Thusappreciation of
aesthetics is a very
individual perception
Two people can look at
the same object and can
have different opinions
about it.

Aesthetic examines what makes something beautiful,
sublime, disgusting, funny, silly,
entertaining, pretentious, harmoniums,
boring or tragic
Judgment of aesthetics clearly rely on our ability
to discriminate at a sensory level

sensitivity to aesthetic qualities can be
However
well groomed by training the
senses & the mind

Aesthetics qualities can only be appreciated if an individual
enjoys the experience of it
Therefore ‘the feel good factor’
attempting to
becomes extremely important while
appreciate the aesthetic
qualities
Thus pleasurable experience one goes through in
appreciating design qualities is aesthetic experience

Aesthetic experience

Aesthetic experience is not only
about liking or disliking, its about the
interaction between the product,
consumer and the environment.

aesthetic experience is the
sensitive selection of formal,
expressive or
Going by the definition.. symbolic qualities of
product or environment
pleasure or
resulting in
satisfaction.

What is this product ?
Aesthetic
experience can
What is environment ?
come from product &
environment
But…

Products are material goods with physical
properties

What is environment ?
multi sensory setting that
It is the
surrounds the body & interacts with the
apparel

Multi sensory factors affecting aesthetics
Visual
sight
kinesthetic
tactile movement
touch
olfactory
smell
auditory
sound
gustatory
taste

It is the most obvious source of aesthetic experience
for the individual.
We treat visually attractive
bodies better than we treat
less attractive individual
Interpersonal interactions are susceptible to the
visual appearance of others.

It is the experience resulting from touch
Human have sensory receptors all over the
body that register the sensations of
touch
Pleasurable experience can result from touching and
from being touched

When it comes to apparel, the focus is the feel or
hand of the fabric
interacts with various
While wearing the fabric literally
parts of the body and registers sensations
lofty & soft character of
wool provides warmth
soft silky nature of silk
gives pleasurable
experience to the body.

KINESTHETIC It is the perception of one’s own body movement
sound of the music
our senses registers the
& starts reacting to the beat of the
music.
apparel also contributes to the kinesthetic
experience.

during dance the floating fabric reinforces the graceful
movement of the body

Pleasant smell also has an impact on the aesthetic
experience
From brushing our teeth …to bathing…to getting ready..
we tend to use so many products that have got
fragrance.
Retailers like JC Penny have are filling their stores with pleasant,
mood evoking odor to stimulate the desirability of product

Sounds filing the environment facilitates
aesthetic environment
The effect of music on the apparel
product may be found in retail stores, fashion
show and TV advertisements

Taste has little to do with aesthetic
appreciation of apparel
But there areother products used on the body that
are flavored to add to the appeal

Environment possesses
• Social qualities
- geographic location
- ethnicity
- religion
- sexual orientation
• formal, expressive & symbolic qualities

Aesthetics in movies

…Aesthetics in films
…different expression of various characters
lead to aesthetic experience

Aesthetics in two dimensional art

Aesthetic consideration within the visual art is usually associated with
the sense of vision.
…Juxtaposition

…Creation of 3 dimensionality
….in two dimensionality
…..Creation of depth

…repetition …movement

..perspective

Aesthetics digital art

Aesthetics in Maps

….represents the symbolic aspect of aesthetics
like the expression of terrain, landscape etc.
…this forms an imagined visual experience of
aesthetic

….symbolic aspect of maps

Content forms a clear direction of themes….style of ornamentation in
antique maps

…symbolic representation of the
political boundaries

Aesthetics in marketing

….marketing is concerned with the ‘trade dress’ of a
branding, its commercial
product such as its
representation or the reputation of the
producer.
….marketing drives human mind to think in a
direction where they would have not previously.

…..product commercial

….commercial launch of a product

….commercial advertisement of a product

Product branding

…product dressing

…catchy jingles

Aesthetics in music

….aesthetic elements expressed in music include
lyricism, harmony, emotions, volume
dynamics, resonance, playfulness,
color, depth & mood.

…lyricism as aesthetics

…harmony in music

Volume…playfulness…dynamic resonance

….emotional expression in music

Aesthetics in performing arts

….expression of grace, balance, timing, beauty, drama & sensuality

….expression of balance, strength & timing

…sensuality, balance, rhythm

Aesthetics in literature

Author uses a variety of techniques to appeal to the
aesthetic value of the reader… like
rhythm, illustrations, imagery, suspense,
drama, analysis etc.

Mind Without Fear
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up
into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards
perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead
habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening
thought and action---
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country
awake.

short stories, novels, non fictions, fiction,
poems appeal to the aesthetic value of the
reader.

Lajja is a response of Taslima Nasrin
Anti Hindu riots which erupted in parts
of Bangladesh, soon after the
demolition of Babri Masjid in India on
6th December 1992. The book subtly
indicates that communal feelings were
on the rise, the Hindu minority of
Bangladesh was not fairly treated, and
secularism was under shadow.

…suspense, adventure, fantasy, drama

Aesthetics in gastronomy

Gastronomy is the study
of relationship
between culture & food.
Although food is the basis & frequently experienced
commodity, careful attention to the aesthetic
possibilities of food turns eating into gastronomy.

careful and a visually appealing arrangement of food
inspire our senses of smell & taste leading to
aesthetic experience…

Aesthetics in information technology

Aesthetics in information technology focuses on used friendly
devices, software applications