Utilization of the space in between a garment and the wearer: a discussion on the garment fit

Abstract

Garment is one of the links between the human body and the outer surrounding that acts as the intermediary for the two aspects. Humans seek for their personal space as the top most priority in the survival, hence before dealing with the external aspects, an individual seeks for their comfort in the personal space. For this the main element they control is their dress, for the dress can be used as an indirect boundary to satisfy their personal space. From the Fashion designer’s perspective, garment is an artificially created boundary; achieved through a meaningful control on the space in between the garment and the wearer. From the wearer’s perspective, they identify this controlled space as the fit of the garment. Therefore, garment fit variations done by 3 selected designers were brought into the discussion and thereby tried to identify the interaction of the human body and the personal space with reference to the garment fit. Accordingly, three main definitions were derived about the garment fit that plays around the personal space of the human body. They are: 1. Adaptation of the garment for the live human body allowing the customization of fit giving an adoptable personal space 2. Tailoring to perfectly match the measurements and the body curves enhancing the body shape and 3. Hiding the body shape through exaggeration of the garment from the human body giving an abstractly exaggerated space around the body