New frameworks in deconstructivist fashion: its categorization in three waves, application of the notions of plasticity, de-design and the inclusion of Bora Aksu and Hussein Chalayan as the third wave Turkish deconstructivist designers

Kiziltunali, Gizem (2017) New frameworks in deconstructivist fashion: its categorization in three waves, application of the notions of plasticity, de-design and the inclusion of Bora Aksu and Hussein Chalayan as the third wave Turkish deconstructivist designers. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This thesis analyses deconstructivist fashion in a wider framework: from the ways it is defined and its designers. Arguing against positions that classify both material and conceptual features within the single area of ‘‘deconstructivist’’ fashion, it proposes Malabou’s plasticity as an additional methodology to Derridean deconstruction. By utilizing Malabou’s plasticity and introducing the concept/process of de-design(ing), the project claims deconstruction to be a twofold process: 1.The technical de-designing of a garment 2.The conceptual deconstruction caused by the de-designed garment. In terms of its designers, the thesis applies these two processes to the unconventional garments of what it classifies as three different waves of deconstructivist fashion: Japanese, Belgian and Turkish. The thesis also proposes the emergence of a third wave deconstructivist fashion by focusing on the unconventional designs of Bora Aksu and Hussein Chalayan. To study these designs of the third wave and further examples of the previous two waves, the thesis utilizes designer and curator interviews, observation of Turkish local wears and motifs and garments displayed on exhibitions and fashion shows as primary research. The thesis focuses on the concepts of transformation/metamorphosis and culture to establish links between the third wave and the first and second wave designers as well as within the third wave itself. Further, it studies the garments of deconstructivist design from a wider framework, which positions the thesis closer to a cultural studies approach.