The relation of color psychology in Fashion Design Research Paper

The relation of color psychology in Fashion Design - Research Paper Example The essay "The relation of color psychology in Fashion Design" concerns the connection between color psychology and fashion design. That said, black and white might mean something different in different cultures, as black may symbolize mourning in certain cultures, and white may symbolize death in certain cultures. The following is an analysis of the colours white and black, with regard to fashion – why they were popularized, what they mean to society, and what they meant to two of the fashion icons who popularized black and white – Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, respectively. Miller (2004) describes his theory of the little black dress and why it is popular and what it means. According to Miller (2004), there are different suspects as to why the little black dress become popularized. Among these is capitalism, history, modernism, and consumption. Capitalism might be responsible for the little black dress simply because the trend began, through Coco Chanel, as indic ated below, and there were designers who were willing to capitalize on this trend. It is simply a case of giving the consumer what they want. The second suspect, according to Miller (2004) is history. According to this theory, outfitting oneself in colorful dress was a function of the rich in history. As men, and women, decided to look less wealthy, and less egalitarian, they chose black, because it made them non-descript. This goes along with the theory put forth by Rubinstein (2001), who states that the rich in Western society. maintained a kind of visual superiority to the middle class, as a way of asserting their superiority in a land where they had to compete for wealth, prestige, power and social rewards. Another historical analysis of the trend concerns Queen Victoria, who was in â€Å"endless mourning,† wearing black, and the black dress worn by Queen Victoria in her mourning came to symbolize mourning in general (Miller, 2004). Modernism is the third suspect on Mille r’s (2004) list. In particular, the aesthetics of modernism is focused upon minimalism. That said, there is also some thought that, in contrast to the theory that black and white dressing represents modernism, there is the thought that the colour black is traditional, and, therefore, designers such as Giorgio Armani have attempted to offer alternatives to black. The theory behind these offerings are that the modern woman is supposed to have security with herself and her roles, so she can leave the black behind and play around with colour (Benstock & Ferriss, 1994). Finally, Miller (2004) identifies consumption as being the reason for the black dress. In this, Miller (2004) states that women have a certain anxiety about choosing colourful dress. Even though they might want to dress in colour, they cannot bring themselves to do so, because of lack of confidence and anxiety. The â€Å"little black dress† was popularized by Coco Chanel in 1926. Chanel, in general, was a fa shion icon, as well as being a fashion designer, as she introduced minimalist fashions at a time when women were still wearing large hats, corsets and high boots. According to De La Haye (1988), Chanel popularized the minimalist look because she recognized that, after the first World War, that women were yearning for a different look, one that did not demand that she continue to immobilise herself in unnatural shapes, just so that she could become fashionable. This period also coincided with the demise of the couture houses (Crane, 2000). Chanel started by designing simple, yet elegant hats