Final Project: Framing Cultures

February 25, 2022

Final Project: Framing Cultures

-Week 1~Week 7-

(3.1.2021-25.2.2021)

Intercultural Design

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Topic: Framing Cultures

Introduction:

For designers, to be culturally competent is non-negotiable, especially in the 21st century where working across cultures is a norm. Therefore, to learn about other cultures and understand the inner workings – language, symbolism, norms, values that shape a people’s mind and worldview – is vital for a designer in this ever-globalizing world. The material culture, such as art, clothing and buildings resonates with a culture’s values and is important to be studied by design students.

After discussion, we decided to choose Japanese traditional fashion, Kimono as our theme for this project.

Source: https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/Tomhbhm_japanese-woman-
in-red-kimono-vector-graphics-japanese/

source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08
/Kimono_backshot_by_sth.jpg

Rational:

Japan has a very rich textile history, with the kimono being a major focus of interest and artistic expression. Meaning 'the thing to wear', the term kimono was first adopted in the mid-19th century. Originally worn by commoners, or as an undergarment by the aristocracy, from the 16th-century kimono became the principal item of dress for all classes and both sexes. It is an enduring symbol of traditional Japanese culture. (Lucy Martin 2019) In today’s world, it is becoming increasingly rare to have a kimono in the home. They are only worn on special occasions and because of this, kimonos have become incredibly expensive to purchase, and quite common to simply rent a kimono when needed. However, instead of abandoning the kimono completely, designers are viewing this as an opportunity to evolve with the times and modernize the well-known garment by creating a casual and lightweight garment that encourages the public to use kimonos more often. (Jillian Giandurco 2021) For our project, we want to look into how to educate the general public more on both traditional and modern kimonos. We would like to keep the tradition alive through the modernization of the craft while keeping its symbolism and motif alive.

After we have done with the proposal and data collection, we prefer to design a booklet about the evolution of Kimono. We distribute our work into 6 parts and start to create the booklet design.