how fashion visually communicate?

1

Each brand uses its own way of communicating visually which characterizes it and differentiates it from competitors and this of course also concerns fashion brands. The essence, purpose, proposal and ideals of a brand are all part of what is defined by the term brand identity and the visual communication is one of the main tools used by brands in order to express their identity to the public. In response, the consumer identifies himself in what the brand represents through communication and can decide to be associated with a certain brand by purchasing one brand or another. Considering clothing not only from a practical prospective, which is to cover nudity and protect ourselves from the nature’s elements, the clothes are loaded with meaning, as they are a tool used to represent the wearer's personality. But how fashion brands visually communicate in order to represent their ethos?

Minimal

The minimal or minimalistic style feature symmetric balance, horizontal movement and presents independent objects that promote restful, peaceful, and quiet moods. These fashion brands, find their inspiration in design and architecture, especially that of northern European origin, and present dresses from the geometric construction that in the images are often combined with pieces of modern design. For example, luxury brands, such as Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and Donna Karan, emphasize a minimal style.

Collage of deconstructed images

Versace

Baroque

Conversely, the Baroque style, which takes inspiration from classical art, such as Greek or Roman art, offers a redundant style, where the pomp and excess are exhibited. These brands create tension by using asymmetric balance and diagonal movement. An example of this are Dolce & Gabbana and Versace, which both use baroque styles that incorporate complex decorations, asymmetric designs, and bold prints.

Helmut Lang

Dolce & Gabbana

Donna Karan

Jil Sander

Versace

2

images as a communication tool: the Burberry case

Burberry has developed a strong multi-channel strategy through a series of coordinated initiatives to achieve an excellent position on the web and on social networks. The main objectives were to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty and enhance consumers engagement in completely different ways, focusing the attention on Millennials. On the occasion of the presentation of the women’s autumn-winter 2010/2011 collection, the Maison created the first 3D fashion show broadcasted simultaneously in London, New York, Tokyo, Dubai and Los Angeles. Users were able to comment the show in real time through Facebook and Twitter. Not only that, it was the first luxury brand to allow customers to immediately order the items presented on the catwalk through the iPad data supplied in its stores, in this way, Burberry has opened a new era of digital communication in fashion.

The colours used by the brands are the result of a research and marketing strategy, if on the one hand the individual perceives the colours in a subjective way, differentiating the colours that he likes and create emotions from those he does not like, on the other, brands act objectively in the research and use of colours.

Colour registration is "one of the most elusive elements of a brand's identity that can be owned" and for example Burberry is well known for its tone of beige.

Analysing the colours used on social media, we note how Burberry maintains the tone of beige that represents its brand identity, but inserts other tones in correspondence with certain events and or according to the seasons; for example, black and grey, serious and elegant tones, representing the cold season, are used in the Instagram posts of the beginning of December. The colour red appears on the Burberry Instagram page for the Chinese New Year at the end of January. The choice of this colour is not random, but it is the result of a strategy. In fact, red is famously popular in relation to anything related to China and is widely used during festivals and important events like weddings. Finally, beige and light pastel colours are used for the launch of the spring/summer collection, during the period in which the fashion week takes place, Burberry decides to use the colour tone that best represents him, this can be considered effective to differentiate competitors and emphasize their brand identity.

deconstructed image of a Burberry campaign

3d Burberry ball

Burberry, 2019

Burberry,2020

Burberry, 2020

3

visual communication in Parasite

The Korean director Bong Joon-ho uses several visual techniques, such as the use of light, colors and even the use of architecture, in order to transmit a certain message to the public.

Fascinating is how the director uses light to show the differences between social classes. In fact, sunlight is only used in frames where the highest social class is present, emphasizing the better quality of life of rich people, therefore closer to the sun, in contrast to the lower social class that remains in the shadows.

The first time the viewer sees the sun is precisely when one of the protagonists, belonging to the lowest social class, climbs the stairs of the home of a wealthy family. An interesting aspect is the house itself, which being part of the set, was built specifically taking into account the movement of the sun and the light presence, exclusively to make that shot possible and significant. What is interesting is the fact that the director uses the construction of the set to highlight the differences between the social classes and to express his visual language.

Another interesting element concerns the use of architecture, used as light, to highlight the contrasts between social classes. The two houses, the one belonging to the poor family and the one belonging to the rich family, have a vertical relationship between themselves. In fact, the house of the poor family is located in a basement and to reach the road you have to climb stairs, vice versa, the house of the rich family is on a mezzanine floor and therefore you have to climb stairs to reach it.

Finally, in the neighborhood where the poor family lives, the viewer can see in the background some uphill streets, which give the idea that there is always something above them, conversely, the house of the wealthy family overlooks numerous downhill streets. Elevation and descent are visual tools that the director constantly uses to emphasize the vertical distance between the two social classes.

parasite-2019-006-kang-ho-song-looking-t

Images from the Parasite movie, 2019

4

the visual code of the Bauhaus

The visual communication of the Bauhaus often refers to the semiotic and psychological theories, to colours and shapes, developed by the painter Wassily Kandinsky. The three main categories are line, shape and colour, and for each of these categories an expressive meaning has been assigned that remains constant. For example, the meaning of coldness, immobility and stability is attributed to the horizontal line. Vice versa, the meaning of height and warmth is attributed to the vertical line. The curved line assumes the meaning of calm and serenity while a broken line is dramatic and nervous. As for the shape, a square assumes the meaning of stability, while the triangle of dynamism and the circle assumes an effect of tranquillity and absence of tension. Colours also take on a specific and constant meaning, for example blue is associated with terms such as 'eternal' and 'spirit', red connects to passion and strength while yellow becomes synonymous with dynamism and tension.

a preproduction of the Bauhaus movement, 1919

The Bauhaus poster represents an airplane that flies to the top right corner and is shown as a two-dimensional image. The Bauhaus logo, present inside the poster, depicts a man in profile inside a circle. The face is made up of rectangular shapes and a square representing the eye. What is interesting is that the square shape of the eye gives the viewer the perception that it is turned towards him, despite the face is shown in profile. The manifest is formed by the three primary forms, square, triangle and circle which follow a proportional and mathematical order so to create symmetry. The colours used are red and black on a white background. Finally, the text used in the manifesto itself forms the structure of the plane.

5

fashion as propaganda

The individual is dressed as a consequence of three factors: protection, modesty and ornament (Flügel J., 1972).

Fashion can take on different meanings, for example, according to semiologist Roland Barthes: “Through fashion, society shows off and communicates what it thinks of the world”.
On the other hand, the dress, in itself devoid of meaning, assumes a value that is a signifier when it is inserted into a historical-social context. The garment, and therefore fashion more in general, describes the social, cultural, economic and political contexts of the time. In this way fashion can assume a political value and social diversification to become a tool of propaganda.
For example, the Roman soldiers were the first to wear a red wool tunic under their armour simply to protect themselves from bad weather conditions, but the constant use of this garment has led to a regulation of the garment itself by the society, until it turns into a use and costume symbol of the power of the empire.

In more recent times, around the second half of the 70s, the emerging Punk movement, began to use flashy and provocative clothing, such as leather, latex, studs and safety pins to oppose against the society considered conformist. In this circumstance, fashion assumes a value of rebellion and opposition to the rules dictated by the society, a propaganda in favour of anticonformism.

An interesting example of fashion as propaganda is the Japanese kimono. War kimonos were manufactured during almost half a century, between 1894 and 1942. During this period, Japan participated in three wars and each of these was visually represented on the clothes. At the end of the 19th century, the main function of war prints on kimonos was to depict, in the absence of photographic documents, the war exploits of Japan. Later, in the mid-20s, drawings started to represent planes, tanks and warships and the Japanese soldiers are represented at a very young age. Although these kimonos were not sponsored by the empire, in addition to the function of exaltation of war enterprises, they served to make children begin to familiarize themselves with the concept of war and service of the homeland.

Japanese Kimono, unkown date

6

Nam June Paik, the thread between east and west

«East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet» G. Orwell

Nam June Paik (1932-2006), Korean artist, was an initiator of the video art, and author of numerous installations in which televisions and various electronic devices were in permanent ON mode. Through this practice, Nam June Paik predicted the dominance of the mass media and new technologies and also the future of information in the days of today, in which the Internet is the master.

Buddha TV

This work, which is simple in appearance, represents a black wood sculpture of Buddha that is placed in front of a television with a classic rounded design, typical of the seventies. To join the subject (Buddha) to the object (TV), creating a spiral movement, there is a closed-circuit camera that frames the Buddha while observing his own image on the screen of the television. The work simultaneously assumes a real and virtual aspect, the direct and reflected image, which it sees at the moment in which it is seen. In this work several factors are put in loop, such as spirituality and media, work of art and technological reproduction. Moreover, there is a union of two different worlds that are at the opposite ends and are difficult to unify, the East, personified by the Buddha, and the West, personified by the television.
Unlike his various performances, usually chaotic both in terms of colours and sounds, in this work Nam June Paik represents the silence, there are in fact no types of sounds or extravagant colours, as if to indicate an authoritative encounter between the two worlds.

Bye Bye Kipling

In this satellite broadcast, Nam June Paik again joins the West and the East, upsetting what the British writer Orwell had considered an impossible encounter: «East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet». In contrast, within these multiple video combinations, we can admire Lou Reed who interacts with the Japanese theatre Kabuki, or Philip Glass that intersects with the Seoul marathon and even Keith Haring who meets the fashion designer Issey Miyake. In this installation, technical failures, signal interruptions and other disturbing elements become components of the work. Within this and many of his other works Nam June Paik lets the case take over, in fact there are various distortions, contaminations and interferences that reveal the imperfection of the technological medium.

Bye bye Kipling, Nam June Paik, 1986, 30:32 min, color, sound

7

Graphic design as a visual communication tool

Graphic design, from the Greek graphein, that is mark-making, is a form of visual communication, that is the ability to transmit an idea through the selection and creation of marks and their positioning on a surface (Hollis, 1974). Communication itself is understood as the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver. According to Fiske the message transmitted is the construction of signs that, through interaction with receivers, produce meanings and this happen when the recipient interprets the signs and codes of a message in terms of his cultural beliefs and values. In the semiotic field, all these meanings produced are formed by two levels: denotation and connotation. Analyzing any image, the denotation is the answer to the question What does this image portray? While the connotation is the answer to the question How this image make you feel? And the answer to this last question varies from one individual to another, depending on their culture and belonging to a particular society.
For example, the meaning of an image representing a cow assumes different aspects depending on the place where the image is seen and depending on who observes this image. In the Western world, this image can be associated with food, while moving to India, for example, the same image can take on a totally different meaning, namely that of sacredness.

The layout meaning

The layout, as for images and texts, takes on a connotation that varies depending on the culture of those who observe it. An important aspect of any layout is its structure, as explained by Kress and Van Leeuwen, which subdivide a layout into three structures: left-right, top-bottom and centre-margin.
Usually, the information that is considered already known by the observer is placed on the left side of the layout, vice versa, the information that is considered new for the observer is generally placed on the right side of the layout. An example of the use of this technique can be found in the following advertising campaign of the denim brand Diesel.
On the left side of the picture we find a woman, who reflects the western beauty canons, who browse a magazine, an attitude considered usual and accepted by society. On the other hand, on the right side of the picture there is a woman observing sperm tubes, and this represents something new and unusual for the community.

Diesel advertaising campaing, 1992

8

Oliviero Toscani: the controversy at the service of fashion

Advertising has different purposes and meanings, its primary task is to inform the public, but there are other aspects that an advertising campaign must cover in order to be successful. For example, advertising must persuade and seduce the public, creating new needs that can only be met through the purchase of that particular product.
As for fashion, brands through advertising campaigns, generally promote luxury or comfort and versatility, generating a desire in the audience that must be satisfied in order to be in step with the times and trends which are constantly changing. But what happens and why a fashion brand, instead of promoting its clothing, decides to base its advertising on social issues, such as inequality, racism, disease or conflict, completely removing the product from advertising campaigns? It is possible, for example, to promote a t-shirt, not showing it in the advertising campaign, but replacing it with images that the public would not want to see?

The most interesting case is certainly that of the Italian brand United Colour of Benetton, which from 1982 to 2000, thanks to the collaboration with the photographer Oliviero Toscani, has created some of the most controversial and interesting campaigns from a communicative point of view to get the title of shockvertising.

In advertising campaigns, Benetton’s intention has always been to communicate through images. The message has become the key element, while the product is replaced by the ideal. In this way, the consumer who buys the product is in line with the idea of union and equality promoted by Benetton.

In this advertising campaign (spring/summer 2000), the last of the collaboration between Benetton and Oliviero Toscani, some prisoners are immortalized on death row in Missouri, USA. The object represented, the death penalty, will have a worldwide media impact, to the point of triggering a heated debate. The purpose of this campaign is to show the public the true face of the death penalty, the debate we are discussing concerns the lives of real men and women. The criticism launched by Toscani to the US judicial system, a country recognized as advanced and progressive, is that of committing the same crime of convicts, that is, being able to decide whether an individual can live or die. In addition, the purpose of a detention should be to re-educate the individual and make sure that he reflects on the crimes committed, and through the use of the death penalty all this is not possible.

I find this advertising campaign particularly interesting, as the product that Benetton wants to promote and sell is not present, but rather an uncomfortable theme that had never been associated with fashion before. I think it is important to recognize the power of Benetton's brand identity, which through these campaigns does not want to promote the quality of its garments but rather to appeal to the moral values of consumers. Those who wore a Benetton t-shirt in the year 2000, in some way, stood against inequalities and injustice.

Oliviero Toscani, 2000

9

The kitchen of loneliness: Carrie Mae Weems

Carrie Mae Weems, a leading artist of the Afro-American community, was born in Portland, Oregon, a city famous in the '50s for its racial laws and strong inequalities. Through her camera she documented the civil rights protests in San Francisco during 1970s. In this series of images by the name of Kitchen Table the artist shows, under a lamp, similar to those used in police interrogations, slices of everyday life. In truth, Carrie Mae Weems, does much more than tell what happens at the kitchen table, in fact she uses her photographs as a visual tool to communicate different messages, such as inequality, hierarchy, stereotypes and feelings as loneliness. The theme covered in these series is therefore that of human relations, such as between wife and husband or mother and daughter, showing through the camera the hierarchies and the American society, still firmly attached to the concept of patriarchy.

585323db9c190ec57ac06eab_Untitled-Man-Re

The artist series by Helmut Lang , Carrie Mae Weems, untitled

This image represents a man and a woman, husband and wife, sitting at the kitchen table. What is interesting is what the image conveys, that is, the sense of loneliness. The table is not in fact painted as a place of conviviality, where the couple meets to eat and spend time together, but you can see how the man is busy reading the newspaper, without paying attention to the absent expression of the wife, sitting next to him.

Untitled (Man reading newspaper)

Kitchen Table Series (series)

1990, printed 2003

Also this other image wants to communicate the message of solitude by capturing a mother committed to reading that does not pay attention to the daughter leaning against the wall in the background. What is especially interesting is the child and her posture, with folded arms, so presumably angry, that observes with an expressive face the book, that is the object that at this moment is receiving the attention of her mother.

Untitled (mother and daughter)

1990