The relation of color psychology in Fashion Design - Research Paper Example

?Introduction White and black are on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as colour goes. However, in fashion, the two colours often symbolize much of the same concepts. Both signify sophistication and wealth. Black was made symbolic of sophistication and wealth mainly because Coco Chanel made it so, as she popularized the “little black dress” in the 1920s. White symbolizes sophistication and wealth because of its connotations with jewels which are white, and the marrying of the sensuous with the virginal, which is enticing to men. Both are symbolic of the clean lines made popular by modernist architects, which translated to fashion. That said, black and white might mean something different in different cultures, as black may symbolize mourning in certain cultures, and white may symbolize death in certain cultures. The following is an analysis of the colours white and black, with regard to fashion – why they were popularized, what they mean to society, and what they meant to two of the fashion icons who popularized black and white – Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, respectively. Black Miller (2004) describes his theory of the little black dress and why it is popular and what it means. According to Miller (2004), there are different suspects as to why the little black dress become popularized. Among these is capitalism, history, modernism, and consumption. Capitalism might be responsible for the little black dress simply because the trend began, through Coco Chanel, as indicated below, and there were designers who were willing to capitalize on this trend. It is simply a case of giving the consumer what they want. The second suspect, according to Miller (2004) is history. According to this theory, outfitting oneself in colorful dress was a function of the rich in history. As men, and women, decided to look less wealthy, and less egalitarian, they chose black, because it made them non-descript. This goes along with the theory put forth by Rubinstein (2001), who states that the rich in Western society maintained a kind of visual superiority to the middle class, as a way of asserting their superiority in a land where they had to compete for wealth, prestige, power and social rewards. Another historical analysis of the trend concerns Queen Victoria, who was in “endless mourning,” wearing black, and the black dress worn by Queen Victoria in her mourning came to symbolize mourning in general (Miller, 2004). Modernism is the third suspect on Miller’s (2004) list. In particular, the aesthetics of modernism is focused upon minimalism. That said, there is also some thought that, in contrast to the theory that black and white dressing represents modernism, there is the thought that the colour black is traditional, and, therefore, designers such as Giorgio Armani have attempted to offer alternatives to black. The theory behind these offerings are that the modern woman is supposed to have security with herself and her roles, so she can leave the black behind and play around with colour (Benstock & Ferriss, 1994). Finally, Miller (2004) identifies consumption as being the reason for the black dress. In this, Miller (2004) states that women have a certain anxiety about choosing colourful dress. Even though they might want to dress in colour, they cannot bring themselves to do so, because of lack of confidence and anxiety. The “little black dress” was popularized by Coco Chanel in 1926. Chanel, in general, was a fashion icon, as well as being a fashion designer, as she introduced minimalist fashions at a time when women were still wearing large hats, corsets and high boots. According to De La Haye (1988), Chanel popularized the minimalist look because she recognized that, after the first World War, that women were yearning for a different look, one that did not demand that she continue to immobilise herself in unnatural shapes, just so that she could become fashionable. This period also coincided with the demise of the couture houses (Crane, 2000). Chanel started by designing simple, yet elegant hats and this minimalist style became a hit. She later designed the little black dress, stating that the dress was simple, elegant and affordable, which was especially important during a time when the world was plunged into economic turmoil. In Chanel’s view, the little black dress was a way for a woman who was not wealthy to look wealthy and be equal with the upper class of society. The “little black dress” was just a part of the pantheon that was Chanel’s designs and innovations, which included short hair, faux pearls, trench coats, simple knits, turtleneck sweaters and the ubiquitous black dress. All of these fashions were a direct rebuke of Victorian feminine ideals (Weber, 2012). The little black dress really took off when American Vogue featured the Chanel Ford black frock in its pages in 1926. After that, the dress was all the rage, and by 1944, “ten out of ten women” owned at least one little black dress (Steele, 2010, p. 483). The 1960s was another era which popularized the black dress. For instance, Jackie Kennedy, who was the style icon for the young women in America, had a look which was pared down and moderate, and, among her pared down moderate fashion pieces was the black dress (Melinkoff, 1984). Audrey Hepburn also popularized the look in her movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. A story about a small-time girl, posing as New York City party girl, the opening scene of the movie probably did more for black dresses than anything else, as Hepburn, as Holly Golightly in her little black dress, gets out of a cab and stares, forlornly, into the Tiffany’s Jewelry Shop (Paris, 1996). The black dress was Golightly’s “working outfit,”according to Higham (1984). According to Harris (1994), “The so-called little black dress that Givenchy designed for Audrey’s Holly Golightly is still fashion shorthand for all things glamorous (Harris, 1994, p. 175). Black may also be a color that signifies something very different from the elegance that is associated with Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel and Jacqueline Kennedy. For instance, black is also a color which is favored by the punk. As Carnegy (1990) notes, black was worn by the disaffected youth, and they stylized the colour to invoke their punk ethos by tearing and slashing their black clothes. This was seen as symbolic of the way that they looked at the world, which was that the world was a very scary place that would soon by ended by a natural or a man-made disaster. In this way, the youth who wear black are using the clothes as their style of communication of their values and beliefs. According to Barnard (2007), communication is one of the functions of fashion. Barnard (2007) also states that culture dictates how what is communicated by one’s clothing. Cerny (1992) concurs, stating that “dress is a vehicle of culture” (Cerny, 1992, p. 106). Therefore, black would mean something different, depending upon the culture that one belongs to. For instance, while black might imbue a sense of elegance and sophistication, or, on the other end of the spectrum, a communication of rage, in the Western Culture, in other cultures, black might mean something different altogether. For instance, Helman and Rapoport (1997) note that there was a protest movement in Israel, which was designed to protest the occupation of Israel in Palestine, and all the bloodshed which has come from this occupation and conflict. The women would descend upon fixed sites in Israel to protest, between the years 1988 and 1994. The prerequisite for these protests were that they were to wear black, which is symbolic of the mourning of the peoples of both Israel and Palestine. White White is another colour which is commonly used in fashion. Miller (2004) sees the black, and white, in fashion as being akin to the modernist’s architectural obsession with these same two colours. Modernism is focused on black and white as hegemonic characteristics. White, especially, fits into the modernism aesthetics, as it invokes purity, hygeniety and pristineness, all valuable aspects of the modernist movement. Black and white dressing fits in with these aesthetics (Miller, 2004). Thus, Miller associates the colour white, in fashion, as being akin to the colour white, in architecture. Just as architects use white to portray elegance, spareness, pristineness and hygeniety, so, too, do fashion designers. Marilyn Monroe was also associated with the colour white, and Banner (2008) states that this is not by accident. For instance, in her movie The Seven Year Itch, Monroe plays the object of lust for the main character in the movie, Tom Ewell, a small, dog-faced man who fancies himself to be a sexual lothario. Her iconic image of standing above a New York City grate, her white dress billowing up over her hips, is perhaps the most famous of all movie images, according to Banner (2008). But Banner states that Marilyn Monroe and her whiteness, not just in her dress, but also her skin and hair, represents the overall ethos of the 1950s, and was in contrast to the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Banner (2008) explains that, in the 1950s, there was a conflict between extreme fears and prejudices, and optimism. The black lagoon creature was representative of the fears of the 1950s – of Communism, of racial riots, of homosexuality, of nuclear proliferation. On the other hand, Banner (2008) states that the whiteness of Marilyn Monroe represented the optimism of the 1950s. It was this sense of optimism which came from the hope of the innovations that new technologies might bring to the world, along with the sense that there was to be a sexual revolution underway, at any time. Banner (2008) also states that the whiteness of Marilyn Monroe – she often wore white, her piano was white, her hair was white, her skin was white, etc. – also appealed to the racist notion that white is superior to black. This was exemplified by the Western representations of the white goddess, who was always a figure of purity and goodness, which was in contrast with the black goddess – the other half of the dualism – as signifying evil. Banner (2008) further talks about how white typically also symbolized purity and virginalism. However, when white is worn by a woman who is sexually experienced, as was Marilyn Monroe, it also connects the virgin to the whore, which are the two major archetypes of women typically cited. Another example of this is the starlet Jean Harlow, who also usually wore white, and her white gowns clung to her curves, which is, once again, marrying the pure with the sensual and sexy. In this case, according to Banner (2008), the connection of the virgin with the whore is especially sexually enticing to men, as this girl connects the two different fantasies that a man has with a woman. Perhaps it was this ethos which inspired Coco Chanel to design a line of ladies’ evening wear which was white and sensual, as Chanel indicated that the she wanted to marry the two concepts of purity with sensuality with this line of clothing (Banner, 2008). The white can also be symbolic of rationality, as was the case of the Greeks and Romans who were traditionally clad in white. White may also be a symbol of the supernatural, as both angels and ghosts are typically thought to be clad in white (Banner, 2008). Banner (2008) also states that white is clean, and this is why it may also be associated with objects of cleanliness, such as hospital uniforms. White, according to Banner (2008) may also be elegant – pearls and diamonds are both typically white, and these are both symbols of elegance, beauty and wealth. Further, white was typically used to denote wealth because of its ability to show off a sun-tanned body, which was the hallmark of the wealthy elite who could afford to vacation in warm climates. As with the case of the colour black, however, white as a clothing colour has cultural context. As stated above, in the Western world, white is typically used to signify purity, elegance, wealth, virginity, angels and goddesses. However, in different cultures, the appearance of white means very different things. For instance, Banner (2008) talks about the Native America finds that objects in white are more menacing than objects in other colours, because white is the absence of colour. In China, according to Banner (2008), the colour white signifies death. Conclusion The colors white and black are on different ends of the spectrum, yet they occupy some of the same lines of fashion ethos. Both are considered sophisticated and symbolic of wealth. White is considered sophisticated and wealthy because of its connotations and linkages with such jewelry and diamonds and pearls. Black is considered sophisticated because of its association with Coco Chanel and Audrey Hepburn. Both are considered clean and modern, as architects in the modern age often designed in white or black, and clothing was influenced by this. Beyond this, however, white and black have typically had very different connotations. There was white goddesses, who are considered good and pure, and black witches, who are considered evil. One needs only to examine the opening scenes of the Wizard of Oz to see the dualism between the two colors, as Glenda the Good Witch is in white and the Wicked Witch of the West is in black. Therefore, it is interesting that both colours have somehow converged to symbolize some of the same concepts in fashion. That said, each has different connotations when considering culture, although, interesting, they might have the same connotation as one another. Just as black is considered a typical colour of mourning in many countries, as exemplified by the women in black in Israel, white may also signify mourning indirectly, as it is symbolic of death in Asian countries and in Native American countries. This could be because it is the absence of colour, therefore it signifies something that is not there. That said, the two colours form the backbone of fashion, and rightly so. Bibliography Banner, L., 2008, “The creature from the black lagoon: Marilyn Monroe and whiteness,” Cinema Journal, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 4-29. Barnard, M., 2007, Fashion theory, Routledge, London. Benstock, S & Ferris, S., 1994, On fashion, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey. 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Rubinstein, R., 2001, Dress codes: Meanings and message in American Culture, Westview Press, Perseus Books Group. Steele, V., 2010, The Berg companion to fashion, Berg, New York. Weber, R., 2011, “The little black dress: Coco Chanel and her influence on fashion,” Available at: http://sharepoint.setoncincinnati.org/public/SeniorPortfolios/Weber,Rachel.pdf Read More