The Potential of Atmosphere as a Framework of Inquiry in the Study and Practice of Fashion for Environmental Attunement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46516/inmaterial.v11.277Keywords:
atmosphere, materiality, body, dress, attunementAbstract
The current epoch is unfolding as a moment of planetary crisis. The reasons for such a disruptive condition are often identified in the dualist system that has shaped western epistemologies, generating a profound disconnection between humans and nature (Escobar, 2018). As long as the environment in which humans are enmeshed is perceived as a separated object, instead of a process of relational co-creation, the chances of catalysing a systemic paradigm shift seem scarce.
In the field of fashion and textile, designers have attempted to overcome the natureculture divide (Haraway, 2003) in various experimental ways. Although these actions seek to re-connect with the environment, they are challenged by the dualist framework within which they perform and which inhibits the body from actually feeling that connection. This contribution would like to propose a framework of inquiry based on embodiment and relationality – the atmosphere.
Through a selected literature review of the concept of atmosphere in aesthetics, cultural geography and fashion, the non-dualist and relational character of atmosphere emerges (Griffero, 2019; Böhme, 2016). In atmospheric space, the climatic and affective fluxes of bodies, materials, humans and non-humans encounter, mix and shape (Anderson, 2009; McCormack, 2008; Ingold, 2010). Yet to understand and feel the relational dynamics of existence occurring among bodies and environment, it is necessary to find ways to tune in with atmospheric fluxes. This article argues that within the framework of atmosphere, fashion – understood as a sensorial and embodied practice (Entwistle, 2023; Ruggerone, 2016; Kwan, 2020; Robinson, 2025) – can constitute a promising terrain to foster environmental attunement and non-dualist perspectives.
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