by tom.giess -

IMPULSE #3: Representation of Epilepsy in Back for Good (2017)

© Zum Goldenen Lamm GmbH & Co. KG, SWR

While conducting research about the topic of epilepsy I came across the EMDb – Epilepsy Movie Database and was curious what movies I would find and how epilepsy as a disease is represented in modern cinema. I decided to host a movie night accompanied with friends and decided to watch the following movie. For my part I payed attention to the way of how epilepsy is represented.

The german tragicomedy movie „Back for Good“, directed by Mia Spengler and released in 2017, deals about the story of former reality TV star Angie, who is forced to move back into her mother’s house in her hometown after going through drug withdrawal. She is about to live with her overprotective mother Monica and her pubescent sister Kiki, who was diagnosed with epilepsy and is bullied at school. Angie herself is moderately successful, but hopes to become a candidate for the next season of Dschungelcamp, a reality show on german television, and have a comeback. The movie incorporates a culture clash, where the b-list celebrity world meets the life in the province.

The relationship between the sisters is tense, but as soon as mother Monica needs to stay in hospital, Angie has to take responsibility for her sister Kiki. This unexpected burden lets the two sisters approach each other.

Although the movie incorporates comedy elements and has overall bizarre characteristics, expert opinions highlight the high fidelity of how epilepsy is portrayed. The movie puts emphasis on a realistic and responsible representation of epilepsy. It displays how a family structure can be complicated and societal stigmatization reinforces self-worth, self-perception and social isolation.

First of all, Angie did not know about her sister’s diagnosis. Not only because of their bad relationship with each other, her mother Monica decided to not tell her older daughter about it. It may be assumed that Monica does not want to put too much attention to her daughter’s disease, because Angie’s work as a TV star means publicity.

Kiki has to wear a noticeable helmet, which protects her in case she experiences an epileptic seizure. She feels ashamed to wear a helmet in school, which gives bullies at school a target and results in her own self-isolation. Her mother limits Kiki’s freedom in the way she takes care of her daughter. When Kiki becomes a victim of cyberbullying, her mother sees herself powerless. The movie plays with the contrast of irresponsible drug abuse and uncertain chronic illness, independence and dependence. This becomes clear, when Angie orders food at a fast food drive-in and Kiki lists, what she can’t eat because of her illness. When Angie and Kiki become closer, it is shown how rarely Angie knows something about her sister’s disease. Kiki needs to explain what can happen to her and how she experiences her individual form of epilepsy. Compared to her mother Monica, who acts withdrawing and protective, Angie is characterized by a more self-conscious and confrontative nature. As soon as she witnesses Kiki being bullied at school, she faces the bullies in an aggressive as well as violent way, making threats to Kiki’s schoolmates.

The jury of Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung (FBW), a german governmental institution which reviews movies regarding their artistic, documentary or film-historical significance, awards Back for Good with the highest status „Prädikat besonders wertvoll“. Besides its cinematic quality, relevant aspects that led to this decision were the acting performance of main actress Kim Riedel (Angie) and the movie’s authentic and non-judging representation of the environment, where the story takes place. Another added value is the questioning of social tolerance and how to interact with people, that are different.

The movie got awarded in 2017 and 2018 as Young Talent Award of the DEFA foundation, Prize of the Jury of German-Language Film Critics, Best Film of Studio Hamburg and Biberacher Filmfestspielen as well as Best Debut Film of weekly journal Bunte.

Back for Good manages to show the challenges persons with epilepsy face on a daily basis by putting them into the context of a complex family history. Medical as well as social and emotional aspects and their impacts on affected people and their environment are integral part of the plot. By combining humor and seriousness, the film succeeds in making the subject of epilepsy accessible to a wider audience while promoting greater understanding and acceptance.

Resources

https://filmdatenbank.dgfe.info/index.html

https://www.fbw-filmbewertung.com/film/back_for_good

https://www.epd-film.de/filmkritiken/back-good

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_for_Good_(Film)

by helene.goedl -

IMPULSE #5 | Exhibition Visit: “Touch & Feel”

From the 10th to the 27th of October 2024, the re:pair festival took place at the MQ Vienna. During the festival, many activities and events took place, all revolving around the topic of repairing and fixing anything from appliances to bicycles, from musical instruments to furniture and, most importantly for me – clothes.

   “The third edition of the re:pair FESTIVAL will take place from October 10 to 27, 2024, with the festival headquarters located in the MuseumsQuartier.

This year’s re:pair FESTIVAL program offers an exciting mix of practice and theory with over 120 events. A variety of workshops will teach creative skills and the joy of repairing. Knowledge will be shared through lectures, ambulances, walks and two exhibitions.

To make the festival accessible to everyone, admission to most events is free.

Repair is an important tool in the fight against the climate crisis. Repair allows for more efficient use of products and more careful use of our resources. And it is easy to integrate into everyday life. Repair is cheap, fun, creative, and empowering.”1

Although I unfortunately missed most of the festival due to sickness and schedule conflicts, I managed to visit one of the exhibitions which was part of the program. The exhibition – curated by Tina Zickler – dealt with the quality of materials in fashion and emphasised the touch aspect of traditional natural materials versus modern materials. The title of the exhibition “Touch & Feel – Quality in Fashion” reflects this.

About the Exhibition “Touch & Feel”

“If you compare the quality of today’s fabrics, buttons and other sewing accessories as well as their workmanship with the standards of 100 years ago, you have to admit a blatant loss of quality. This is why many young people and adults are only familiar with low-quality clothing made from synthetic fibers, especially polyester. The outstanding properties of renewable natural materials – sustainability, durability and comfort – are unknown to many people today. The “Touch & Feel” exhibition shows the quality of fabrics, buttons and other sewing accessories in the past. Linen, silk, wool, rabbit fur, mother-of-pearl, glass and horn buttons versus polyester, polyamide and plastic ->>> Touch & Feel!”2

The exhibition was installed in the “Schauraum der Angewandten im MQ” in the Museum Quarter in Vienna. While the space is quite small, resulting in the exhibition having to be on a reduced scale, it still managed to incorporate several aspects material questions in the fashion system. Natural materials where exhibited in different states of fabrication. Linnen was displayed from the raw material to the first fibre processing to a finished piece of clothing. Visitors were allowed to touch all the exhibits which added considerably to the experience and gave the material component another dimension through which fibre quality could be comprehended.
The natural materials were juxtaposed with textiles made from synthetic fibre. In some cases, it is astonishing how similar the first impression of synthetic materials can be to natural materials. It is only once you touch and feel the materials on the skin that you can really perceive the difference as a wearer. 

Why is this Topic Relevant for my Thesis?

One of the aspects of digital fashion that is interesting to me is that the material quality of clothing, which is such an important aspect of fashion design gets completely lost. An interesting corresponding development in “traditional” fashion design of today – which was also covered in the exhibition – is that the material seems to become less important as well. Particularly in fast fashion, the tactile quality of the textiles seems to not be a priority any more, but the selection of material is much more dominated by considerations of price and outer appearance of the fabric. This has lead to a decline in overall fibre and textile quality across the board in the textile market because buyers are demanding low prices and quickly produced materials rather than sustainably produced and comfortable to wear fabrics. It will be interesting to delve further into the topic of materiality in my further research and writing. 

Images

1MuseumsQuartier Wien. “Re:Pair FESTIVAL.” Accessed November 12, 2024. https://www.mqw.at/en/program/repair-festival.
2re:pair Festival 13.10.–5.11.2023, Programm – Re:Pair Festival 10.-27.10.2024. (Translated by DeepL)

Sources

“Re:Pair FESTIVAL,” MuseumsQuartier Wien, accessed November 12, 2024, https://www.mqw.at/en/program/repair-festival.

re:pair Festival 13.10.–5.11.2023, Programm – Re:Pair Festival 10.-27.10.2024, October 11, 2024, Re:Pair Festival 10.-27.10.2024, October 11, 2024, https://repair-festival.wien/programm/?date=2024-10-11.

All Images © Helene Goedl 2024

by tom.giess -

IMPULSE #2: Raphaela Egger on Systems Thinking

As part of this semester’s course Future Design Lab at FH JOANNEUM our lecturer Raphaela Egger made an excursion to the topic of Systems Thinking.

In her lecture Egger distinguishes between Systems Thinking and Design Thinking, which are complementary approaches for solving complex problems and enhancing the design of products, services and systems. Design Thinking emphasizes understanding users‘ needs and developing solutions that are intuitive, functional, and appealing. Conversely Systems Thinking centers on comprehending how an entire system operates and recognizing how modifications in one area can impact other parts. 1,2

Egger states that a complex system cannot simply be dismantled, reorganized, and reassembled, nor can it be simplified.3 Once its complexity is destroyed, the system itself stops to function. Interventions in complex systems almost always lead to unexpected side effects and long-term consequences because we rarely understand all the interconnections and unintentionally create unexpected system dynamics.

5R model of Systems Thinking

Egger introduced us to the 5R model of systems thinking, which is a framework that highlights five key dimensions of systems: results, roles, relationships, rules and resources.4,5 This model serves as a lens for assessing local systems and guiding interventions to strengthen them.

  • Resources: The inputs or „fuel“ required for the system’s interactions to give results.4
  • Rules: The formal and informal guidelines, laws, cultural norms and protocols that govern the system’s operation.4,6
  • Roles: The functions and responsibilities assumed by different actors within the system.4,6
  • Relationships: The connections and interactions between various actors in the system.4,6
  • Results: The target outcomes or impacts that the system is designed to produce.4,6
© Raphaela Egger, plasticpreneur®

Team task

During the lecture Mrs. Egger gave us the task to apply an system of our choice to this model. Our group talked about the education system in industrialized countries and how artificial intelligence might influence it in the future:

Resources

AI brings advanced tools and technologies into classrooms, redefining the resources available to students and educators. Intelligent tutoring systems, adaptive learning platforms and generative AI applications offer new and personalized educational experiences. However this may lead to a loss of conventional analog skills, such as handwriting or mental calculation, as digital tools take precedence. Educational institutions must balance leveraging AI with preserving foundational skills to ensure holistic development.

Rules

The integration of AI in education sectors will most likely need new guidelines and policies for its usage. For instance, rules regulating the ethical use of AI, data privacy and intellectual property must be developed to address emerging challenges. There may be a redefinition of what is truly essential in education, focusing less on rote memorization and more on teaching students how to effectively interact with and use AI. This shift might require the curricula to be revised to prioritize AI skills and critical thinking over conventional ways of education.

Roles

AI has the potential to transform the roles of both teachers and students. Educators may transition from being primary sources of knowledge to facilitators, who guide students in AI-enhanced learning. Conversely students may be more active in directing their learning journeys, taking advantage of AI tools to explore topics at their own pace. As these changes provide a lot of chances for individuals, they also come with concerns about the children’s development: the importance of interpersonal interaction and the risks of depending too much on technology for example.

Relationships

It is predictable that AI in education will change the way actors will interact within the system. The relationship between teacher and student may change as AI becomes an intermediary, which will provide instant feedback and support. Peer relationships with collaborative learning could increasingly be mediated by digital platforms. These changes might impact social development, particularly for younger children. Health implications are happening already, such as excessive screen time and shortening of the attention span and reduced sleep quality. This could get more intensive.

Results

Results of an AI-influenced education could reshape societal outcomes. With AI making learning more accessible and personalized, students in industrialized countries could perform better in school and university, becoming more innovative. But the effects are more than academic success. As humanity grows alongside AI, we must think about what intelligence means, how human creativity fits in and what values should guide education. Balancing technology with the human side of learning should be the overall goal.

In relation to my research topic

In particular, it would be interesting to see how my research topic of improved first aid for epilepsy would affect the emergency response system in terms of decision making through a mobile app when a seizure occurs.

Resources

  1. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-can-design-thinking-systems-work-together-caglar-korun/ ↩︎
  2. https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/differences-between-systems-thinking-and-design-thinking ↩︎
  3. http://systemthinking.de/Systeme-verstehen/ ↩︎
  4. https://usaidlearninglab.org/system/files/resource/files/5rs_techncial_note_ver_2_1_final.pd ↩︎
  5. https://www.ashoka-visionaryprogram.org/tools-for-systems-change/ ↩︎
  6. https://collaboratiohelvetica.ch/en/blog/2021/7/28/the-5r-framework-gn2bw ↩︎
by helene.goedl -

IMPULSE #4 | Lecture Performance: “REPAIR!_Fashion” by Evelyn Roth

On the 27th of October, a lecture performance by designer Evelyn Roth took place as part of the program of the Vienna based “re:pair festival” 2024. The lecture performance dealt with the role of the repair process in the current fashion system. Under the title “REPAIR!_Fashion – The Relevance of Repair as an Act of Creativity in Circular Processes”, Roth engaged in an act of repairing a garment live on stage before elaborating on the role and the status of the act of visibly repairing and mending garments. Using the example of a blouse, Roth illustrated the repair process as a socio-political statement and creative act. Within the design context, the lecture discussed the possible future of design processes in circular workflows.

The focus of the talk was on the emerging hierarchical change in the structure of fashion: REPAIR!_Fashion aimed to be understood in the context of a systemic and structural change in fashion. Repairing fashion provokes an expanding aesthetic perception and a political positioning that the act of repairing as a design process entails.  In the words of Orsola de Castro, upcyclist, fashion designer, author and co-founder of Fashion Revolution: “Repairing your clothes can be a revolutionary act. “1

About Evelyn Roth

“Evelyne Roth is a designer and a lecturer on the BA in Fashion Design, the MA Master’s Studio ICDP and the cross-institute CoCreate programme of the FHNW Academy of Art and Design. She has held posts at a number of institutions as an expert in Design Thinking and Forecasting. Questioning common processes in the fashion industry, attempting to break with them and launching products that make a contemporary statement are all part of her holistic brief as a designer. Her practice and teaching in design focus on circular design, research, conception and materiality.”2

Key Takeaways

The main issue concerning the visible repair and resale of clothes Roth illustrated in her lecture is the uncertain legal status of reselling a visibly mended garment as a new or updated design under the name of the repairing designer. Roth highlights that for a long time, the goal of repairing was to make the repair process as invisible as possible. She mentioned brands like the luxury fashion house Hermès, who have a dedicated repair program for their bags. The goal of their repair strategy is to “reset” the products to their original state as well as possible, without leaving visible traces of the repair process. Roth postulates that the act of repair should be reconsidered as a creative act of its own which is allowed to leave traces. Through her example of a blouse however, she illustrates what the challenges for such a recontextualization can bring. In her performance, Roth visibly mended a blouse which was originally designed by Dries van Noten. If she wanted to resell the blouse as her own design, there would be a legal argument for copyright infringement because of the protections on the original design. The entire discussion went into more detail, illustrating that within fashion, copyright is a complicated question in general. Some aspects of fashion designs are protectable by copyright, like pattern designs. Certain other aspects however, cannot be protected by copyright, such as silhouettes for example. The copyright question does not come up when a garment is sold without visible mending manipulations as a second hand item attributed to the original designer, which begs the question – when does a repair become visible enough to be relevant and what are the rights of the visible mender in this process.

My impression of the talk was that this issue is certainly interesting and seems to be quite complicated. I personally do not quite see the visible repair of garments and the resale of them on a large scale as an issue that reach dimensions where it will really disrupt the fashion system. However, I of course have not done extensive research on this and can therefore only state my first impression and general opinion in this case. 
As for the relevance to my research topic – I believe digital fashion faces a similar issue of copyright and especially ownership. These topics will be discussed further in a future regular blog post.  

1Programm – Re:Pair Festival 10.-27.10.2024. October 27, 2024. Re:Pair Festival. https://repair-festival.wien/programm/?date=2024-10-27.
2FHNW. “Evelyne Roth.” Accessed November 11, 2024. https://www.fhnw.ch/en/people/evelyne-roth.

Sources

“Evelyne Roth,” FHNW, accessed November 11, 2024, https://www.fhnw.ch/en/people/evelyne-roth.

Programm – Re:Pair Festival 10.-27.10.2024, October 27, 2024, Re:Pair Festival, October 27, 2024, https://repair-festival.wien/programm/?date=2024-10-27.

All Images © Helene Goedl 2024

by helene.goedl -

IMPULSE #3 | Open House: Die Angewandte – Fashion Department and University Library

At their yearly Open House, the Angewandte (University of Applied Arts Vienna) opens its doors to everyone who wants to get to know the courses on offer at the university or is just interested in taking a look behind the scenes. At the Open House, the studios, workshops and departments of the University of Applied Arts are open to visitors. Students and teachers share insights into everyday university life. Information stands on site and online provide the opportunity for further exchange about the study programmes.1 This year, I seized the opportunity to visit the fashion department at the Angewandte Open House.  

Why was the Open House relevant for my Thesis?

Fashion study programs, fashion design education and their curricula are excellent indicators of where the fashion scene is headed at a given time. Sometimes, these study programs are on the pulse of current developments, sometimes they lag behind for one reason or another. My main objective in visiting the open house was to explore where the fashion department at the Angewandte stands on the role of digital fashion design, whether this development is incorporated into the education and if there are projects already on display that might show the status on this question. Additionally, I made use of the opportunity to take a tour of the Angewandte university library to explore the possibility of using it for my Master’s thesis research.

The Fashion Department

The fashion department at the Angewandte is one of the most successful fashion design education programs in Europe. The admission is highly selective, only taking on between 5 and 10 students each year. The program is currently headed by fashion designer Craig Green.

“London-born designer Craig Green MBE established his namesake label in 2012 shortly after graduating the Fashion Masters course at Central Saint Martins. He has since carved out a unique position amongst the industry’s most innovative talents and continues to earn both critical and commercial success globally.”2

The head of department position is re-staffed in short intervals in order to provide the students with exposure to different approaches during their 5 year study period. The degree program is a diploma, which means it is not divided into a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

The Fashion Design programme highly values the development of a distinctive creative style and artistic vision in their students.  In close guidance from the professors, “students explore the critical potential of fashion between materiality, corporeality, and concept.The curriculum comprises traditional pattern cutting and construction skills alongside digital skills and techniques. Students benefit from a state-of-the-art, industry-standard sewing atelier, knitting atelier and a spacious studio with a personal work space for each student. Students are given the possibility to work in professionally equipped studio spaces and workshops both within the Fashion Department and other departments of the University of Applied Arts.”3

The department has seen many highly acclaimed professionals in the lead position, such as l Karl Lagerfeld, Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, Raf Simons, Vivienne Westwood, Viktor & Rolf, Bernhard Willhelm, Hussein Chalayan, Lucie and Luke Meier and  Grace Wales Bonner to name a few.3

“Graduates of the Fashion Department have founded their own labels, such as Bless, house of the very island’s, Wendy Jim, Petar Petrov, Femme Maison, Sagan Vienna, Kenneth Ize, and others. Others occupy leading positions in the fashion industry, working for brands such as Balenciaga, Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, OAMC, Prada, Comme des Garçons or Maison Margiela.”3

With regard to digital fashion, I was able to find out that CLO3D is taught in the curriculum as an industry standard program. In terms of digital fashion collections or digital garment developments, I was not able to find any significant presence, suggesting that while the aspect of digital fashion has a place in the curriculum, it is not a focus of the program. The focus is still very much on physical tailoring and traditional skills in the fashion design process, which I believe is a good and solid approach and the successes of the graduating designers prove this. 

The Library

Since the Angewandte has a fashion department, their library catalog naturally is much more extensive than the one at FH Joanneum with regard to this design discipline. I took a guided library tool and created a library account for external students and will be making use of the resources for my thesis. 

Images

1“Angewandte Open House 2024.”
2Craig Green. “About.” Accessed November 11, 2024. https://craig-green.com/pages/about.
3“Fashion – dieAngewandte.”

Sources

“About,” Craig Green, accessed November 11, 2024, https://craig-green.com/pages/about.

“Angewandte Open House 2024,” Angewandte Open House 2024, October 14, 2024, accessed November 11, 2024, https://openhouse.uni-ak.ac.at/en/.

“Fashion – dieAngewandte,” accessed November 11, 2024, https://www.dieangewandte.at/fashion.

All Images © Helene Goedl 2024

by helene.goedl -

IMPULSE #2 | Event: “ORF Lange Nacht der Museen” – Mode Wien Pop Up Museum

On Saturday, October 5, 2024, this year’s “ORF Lange Nacht der Museen” (“night of museums”) took place throughout Austria. For the 24th time, the event allowed visitors to explore a large number of museums with just one ticket. Once again this year, numerous museums and galleries participated in the event and opened their doors from 6.00 pm to midnight.

In addition to varied exhibitions, many exciting special events were part of the evening. Visitors could choose their personal highlights from the wide range on offer and visit all participating museums and events with just one ticket. The participating museums offered a wide range of experiences, from small, curious and eccentric locations to large, renowned cultural institutions.1

I decided to explore the “long night” in Vienna this year, and one of the participating institutions I selected for one of my visits was of special interest to my thesis topic and my research into digital fashion.
The PopUp Museum of Mode Wien in the Guild House of Viennese Fashion Makers was located in the historic center of Vienna. The site used to serve as an accommodation for itinerant garment makers. The exhibition “Symbiosis”, which was on display during the “long night” pays tribute to the creative energy and craftsmanship of the Viennese fashion scene.2

Why was this Exhibition relevant for my Thesis?

In my research into fashion design, one component of interest for my research is the way fashion is displayed in museum exhibitions. Fashion has a long history of “fighting” to be viewed as an art form, often times being perceived as lesser than classic artistic disciplines such as painting, sculpture or even literature and music. The idea that fashion is more trivial as an artistic discipline certainly has many underlying causes, not least of which is the aspect that fashion was and is to this day perceived as a female domain as well as a part of pop culture, which lowers its merit in the eyes of certain fractions of the art scene. Interest in fashion is not often equated to other interests in the arts, often being dismissed as something mundane and trivial. In recent years however, the perception of fashion has shifted and the artistic merit of the craft as a discipline of art is finally gaining more traction. Along with this tension of fighting for its place in the art cannon, exhibiting fashion can be a challenge because fashion usually depends to a certain extent on the incorporation of movement, body and the context of being worn. This makes it a challenge to exhibit in an engaging way.

Exhibition Review

The space in the guild house was divided into sections. In one of the rooms, the exhibition “Symbiosis” was displayed. This exhibition featured designs from Viennese fashion designers in correspondence with artworks by local artists, all elaborating on the same topic. The correspondence between the garments and the art pieces created an interesting dialogue and extended and re-contextualized the designs on display. The overall exhibition design however, was unfortunately not quite as successful as it could have been. Since the “long night” always attracts a large number of visitors, the exhibition was quite crowded and the space did not provide good opportunities for easy crowd guidance, resulting in a rather hurried exhibition experience. 

The other section of the space was dedicated to a pop up shop where some local designers had the opportunity to sell some of their designs and give insights into their design process. The designers were present and this provided an opportunity to ask further questions about their creations which was a nice component. Overall however, I would have preferred if they could have dedicated the whole space to the exhibition concept in favour of a better visitor flow and a more pleasant overall visiting experience. It became quite clear that the exhibition was likely more of an afterthought and the pop up shop spatially took priority over it, which was a pity. Although I understand the overall concept and I appreciate the approach with the correspondence to other art disciplines, I must say that I have seen fashion exhibited in more engaging ways in other museums, such as the exhibition “Dressing the Body” at the Disseny Hub Barcelona. 

Images

1ORF Lange Nacht Der Museen. “Info,” 2024. https://langenacht.orf.at/info.
2ORF Marketing & Creation GmbH & Co KG. “ORF Lange Nacht der Museen Booklet.” Press release, 2024.

Sources

“Dressing the Body. Silhouettes and Fashion (1550-2015),” Disseny Hub Barcelona, December 12, 2023, https://www.dissenyhub.barcelona/en/exhibition/dressing-body-silhouettes-and-fashion-1550-2015.

“Info,” ORF Lange Nacht Der Museen, 2024, https://langenacht.orf.at/info.

ORF Marketing & Creation GmbH & Co KG, “ORF Lange Nacht der Museen Booklet,” Press release, 2024, accessed November 11, 2024.

All Images © Helene Goedl 2024

by helene.goedl -

IMPULSE #1 | Film: “Notebook on Cities and Clothes”

About the Film

In his 1989 film “Notebook on Cities and Clothes”, Wim Wenders documents Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto’s journey through developing a collection for a fashion show in Paris. Although Wenders previously expressed a disinterest in fashion, he accepted the commission to create a film on Yamamoto when he was approached by the Centre Pompidou in Paris for the production.
In the film, Wenders intercuts interviews with Yamamoto with documentary scenes shot in his atelier while he develops a collection with his team. In the process, Wenders finds appreciation and understanding for the process of fashion design by finding parallels to his own creative practice. Wenders labels this project as a “diary film”, shooting primarily without a team and filming most of the material himself.1 

About his approach to fashion before making the project, Wenders says in his voiceover in the film: “The world of fashion… I am interested in the world, not in fashion. But maybe my judgement was premature. Why shouldn’t I try to approach the topic without prejudices. Why not look at fashion like any other industry, the film industry for example?”

“Filmmaking…should sometimes just be a way of life. Like going for a walk, reading a newspaper, writing something down, driving a car, or making this film. From day to day it writes itself, driven by the curiosity for the topic.2

About Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto was born on the 3rd of October 1943. He is among the most notable modern Japanese fashion designers. Yamamoto is based in Tokyo and Paris. Noted as a masterful tailor, his brand identity is marked by his avant-garde tailoring which also incorporates Japanese design aesthetics.3

Why is this Film an Impulse for my Thesis?

In the course of my research, it is becoming more and more clear that my thesis will deal at least in part with an exploration of the material component of fashion and clothing, the role materiality plays in our relationship to clothing and the challenges this poses for extending the fashion design discipline into the digital world. 

In the film, director Wim Wenders mentions his starting point for his exploration into the world of fashion design – a jacked he owned that gave him a special feeling when he wore it. The piece was by Yohji Yamamoto.2 This is an example for the importance of materiality in fashion design, especially in how the wearer builds a relationship to garments. 

Wenders and Yamamoto connect over the famous August Sander photo documentary work “People of the 20th Century” in which Sander “documented” everyday people in their environments through portraits (The word “documented” is in quotations because we know today that some of the images were staged by Sander and are not truthful to the real circumstances of the portrayed people). While Wenders admires it as an iconic work of photography, Yamamoto is fascinated by the clothes and demeanour of the portrayed people. Yamamoto appreciates how clothes back in that time reflected and communicated a lot more about a persons circumstances in life.2
This can be seen as positive or negative. Clothing as a tool of social stigmatisation is also a common occurrence throughout history. 


Personal Key Moments from the Film: 

  • Digital craftsmanship – Wim Wenders interjects the elaborations of Yamamoto on Sander’s work by questioning the value of digital craftsmanship in comparison to classical craftsmanship. Especially connected to the people depicted in Sander’s portraits. Wenders essentially questions whether digital processes will ever be able to compare to the value of physical craftsmanship.
From: Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989).
  • Craftsmen’s morals – “[…] in short, to find the essence of a thing through the process of fabricating it”.2 – Another instance of an argument in favour of the importance of physical process. 
From: Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989).
  • Designing time – Yamamoto postulates that if he could design anything, it would be time. He says some materials are alive, they age and the true finished garment is a product of time.2 Here, we see another component of the analog fashion’s life cycle that cannot be translated into digital space. Or does digital fashion have the ability to age? What would digital aging look like? Will digital fashion age through outdated formats, low resolution, outdated shading and 3D modelling conventions?
From: Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989).
  • Importance of collaboration – fashion as a collaborative art form is brought up in the final scenes of the film. Yamamoto and his team come together to review the collection shown at Paris fashion week and celebrate. Wenders acknowledges the importance of each of their contributions – does this collaboration get lost in the digital fashion design process?

1“Notebook on Cities and Clothes | Wim Wenders Stiftung.”
2 Notebook on Cities and Clothes.
3 Wikipedia contributors, “Yohji Yamamoto.”

Bibliography:

“Notebook on Cities and Clothes | Wim Wenders Stiftung,” n.d., https://wimwendersstiftung.de/en/film/notebook-on-cities-and-clothes/.

Notebook on Cities and Clothes. 35mm Color, 1989. https://www.primevideo.com/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.52af787f-a727-4c08-92cd-19e1ac0a8357.

Wikipedia contributors. “Yohji Yamamoto.” Wikipedia, November 5, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yohji_Yamamoto.