Abstract
This study reviews the principles for the techniques of Impressionist paintings as well as analyzed contemporary fashion designs with a focus on a motif-building technique based on the laws of a screen equivalent as a visual formative approach. We provide design principles based on fashion design painting techniques. Previous research on the laws of the screen equivalent of Impressionist paintings were studied and a qualitative analysis was conducted on fashion design cases from 2011, 2012 S/S and F/W collections. The analysis resulted in the following outcomes. First, the development of new motifs were found directly correlated to the creativity of design if it was a motif-building design. Second, in the selected fashion design cases, cutting lines and details were covered by motifs and their shapes collapsed in regards to overall visual uniformity so that specific details were hard to identify. Third, clothing shapes are recognized the changing colors of motifs and not through construction pattern lines; therefore, the expressions of diverse visual forms were available without being disturbed by construction pattern lines. This is deemed equivalent to an Impressionist painting style that depicts shapes with colors instead of lines. Lastly, the cases covered in this study have created new visual aspects that replace the stereoscopic spatial depth of clothes with a 'sensuous surface'. The pleasures derived from the sensuous surface are deemed equivalent to the visual pleasures created by Impressionist paintings.