10/03/2016
What does materiality mean in relation to context and concept? Can materiality connect concept and user, if so, how?
Based on Fletcher’s article “Attentiveness, Materials, and Their Use”, I see materials have strong relations with texture, design, usage, color, pattern, and cultural values. I especially love the summarized sentence: “Have lots of them- don’t know them. Know them-enjoy them, be charmed or frustrated by them, love them, change them, understand them. Understand them-demand them less.” Different kind of materials brings various feelings to users, for example wool can both physically and emotionally influence people’s choice of keep it. A lot of “never washed” clothes stories mentioned wool knitwear that it can keep their memories as well as provide extra softness and comfort to the body. According to this as a designer, once you make your designs, you need to deal with materials, get to know and understand the material you are using, and make them resilient. Basically natural fiber gives the most reliable feeling to users and that is one of the reasons that natural fiber takes the majority in fashion market. A decision of choosing a material in designed clothes could impact a users attitude and how they interact with the garment. Dedicated handcraft like embroidery, beading, special knitting techniques make users want to treat the garment better, keep it clean and maybe wear without directly touching skin. Some materials also have close relations with cultural norms and values with specific purpose on garment, such as some Chinese minority nationality groups; they have been passed the same traditional techniques of using one particular fabric to make clothes, and the garment directly connect with its cultural perspectives. Material provides diverse functions to users with its texture, form, color and quality. It is a tool to express one’s awareness, value and perception, for instance some subculture groups wear typical style of clothes (such as leathered jacket and tear down garment) and specific symbols represent their aggressive feeling to the society.
