How do people judge fashion design? Fashion experts are notorious for using vague criteria, saying things like “I know it when I see it.” This kind of response implies that good design can’t be analyzed objectively. In a recent interview, Project Runway’s Tim Gunn even claims that people should avoid consciously analyzing fashion:
Smithsonian Magazine: How do you recognize good design?
Tim Gunn: It’s largely visceral, to be perfectly honest. If my brain tells me that a new design should resonate with me, but I’m unmoved, then I always go with my gut. I was talking to faculty members at the Parsons School for Design, where I taught for 24 years. They were telling me about how they initially evaluate a new object. They come upon it not really looking at it. They see it in the periphery of their vision and then they look at it for a split second and close their eyes. It’s that moment of reckoning that tells them the value of the object.
Tim’s response suggests that categorizing a look as “good fashion” results from snap judgments about its visual elements. But what drives this gut feeling about good design? On Project Runway, the judges often critique the perceptual elements of a look, saying things like, “it’s too busy,” “it’s not cohesive,” or ,”I HATE that color!” So are there objective, perceptual rules that good fashion adheres to? Or do you have to be a fashion expert to “know it when you see it?” Continue reading
