Abstract
The purpose of this study is to prescribe formative perspectives as a framework where the aesthetic taste and demands of a certain period are embodied and to develop new analytical tools to examine the beauty of dress in terms of form. First, the theoretical tools selected for this study are Heinrich Wolfflin's formative perspective theory derived from art and Marilyn R. DeLong's framework for visual analysis of dress. Second, several issues that limited the development of a new framework for analyzing the form of dress were identified and addressed. Third, the selected aspects of dress form to be analyzed are specified. They are: silhouette, inner form, structure form, materials and patterns based upon the relationship between the body, dress and space in order to develop new formative perspectives. Based upon these theories a new framework for analyzing dress aesthetics in terms of form is developed. This reconstructed framework consists of three sets of antagonistic representational styles: closed form/open form, linear form/painterly form and multiplicity/unity. Closed form/open form represented in dress can be classified by the clear or obscure silhouette shown not only in the relationship between the dress and space around the dress, but also from changeability or invariability of dress in relation to the body. The material, pattern and various design elements are used as the central criteria to determine the linear/painterly characteristics in dress representations. Finally, the multiplicity/unity can be found in the relationship between the whole and the parts. Multiplicity is represented in dress when the parts have a visual priority over the whole, whereas unity is represented when a dress as a whole has visual priority over the parts. A dress represented with closed form, linear characteristic and multiplicity is perceived as a clear form. In contrast, a dress with open form, painterly characteristic and unity is understood to be an obscure form. It can be said that this study is the first attempt to establish the formative perspectives for analyzing the form of dress in various periods, cultures and races for the future studies.
