Decolonizing Spatial Design with Modular Fashion: Building Sustainable Bodies and Building Sustainable Environments

Design practices have been established by white men and adapted through periods of colonialism, industrialization, postmodernism, capitalism, consumerism and technological advancements. These designers have cemented the gender binary and other binaries which allow for some to enter and exclude others. This paper will focus on how design has set a hierarchy to make bodies react to built spaces. When decolonizing the built environment, an inverse relationship or a flip in this hierarchy could be a solution. The interaction between dressed bodies and spaces will be analyzed through modular fashion. Modular fashion proposes an opportunity to re-center designing to be user-focused, ultimately making bodies mobile spaces. This gives anyone the potential to transcend homogeneous spaces that exclude them. Furthermore, modular fashion allows for body inclusivity in the garments and a sustainable method to combat throwaway consumerism.

Presenter:
Samantha Starks, she/they, University of Wisconsin-Madison 
 

6 thoughts on “Decolonizing Spatial Design with Modular Fashion: Building Sustainable Bodies and Building Sustainable Environments”

  1. This was a fascinating presentation! Great research questions, connections, and explanation of modular fashion. The use of examples within your presentation was very helpful and interesting. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Great presentation! I’m still discovering and learning about the concept of modular fashion; I think it’s an important topic in ways of thinking about autonomy and accessibility in fashion! One question that I have for you is who would you consider to be leaders in the development of modular fashion right now? Who should we check out in order to learn more about modular fashion?

  3. Thank you Sam! I frequently think about the role of clothing in creating and reinforcing the gender binary and spacial restrictions, so it is fascinating to think about how modular fashion might remedy this with other disability and sustainability impacts. Amazing job!

  4. Thank you Sam! I frequently think about the role of clothing in creating and reinforcing the gender binary, so it is fascinating to think about how modular fashion might remedy this with other disability and sustainability impacts. Amazing job!

  5. Hi Sam – You did a super job. I love the way you’ve conceptualized the body as a mobile, democratizing/decolonizing space. I also appreciated the clarity of your presentation. You expressed your ideas in a super accessible way. Also, you did a great job incorporating images and videos.

    Thanks for sharing your work with us!

  6. Hi Sam –

    You did a super job conceptualizing the body as a mobile, democratizing/decolonizing space. I also appreciated the accesibility/clarity of your presentation.

    Thanks for sharing your work with us!

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