FASHION IMAGE AS A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM: THE GUIDELINES OF UKRAINIAN FASHION DURING THE WAR

Abstract

At the present stage, the visual language of costume has acquired a special significance; taking into account the achievements of Ukrainian designers in recent years, it can be argued that costume and the ways of its demonstration carry different messages, and therefore should be considered as a communication system that requires special research attention. The approaches of scholars to the definition of the concept of ‘communication’ in sociology, philosophy, cultural studies, and art history are considered. The works of Ukrainian and foreign scholars who have paid attention to the analysis of the communication function of Ukrainian fashion (V. Bahriy, G. Katolyk, M. Kolosnichenko, K. Protsyk, R. Kvasnytsia, A. Lypar-Chavchenko, N. Khoma, T. Tzapakhovych, A. Pavko-Chuden, K. Koshak, T. Topornyi) are analysed. It is noted that at the present stage, the visual language of costume has acquired special significance and requires special research attention. The relevance of using the concept of ‘fashion image as a communication system’ is substantiated; it is determined that this system is based on the transmission of information or a message from the wearer of the costume/its author to the environment of its perception through the expressive means of form, colour, decorative elements and additions (verbal, pictorial, object), hairstyle, make-up, shoes, and the method of demonstration. The article examines the communication means of costume used by Ukrainian designers YADVIGA NETYKSHA (Y. Netyksha) and KIR KHARTLEY (K. Kharytontsev) in creating clothing models as a reaction to the events of the war in Ukraine. It is shown that clothing, in the presence of such communication elements as verbal slogans, imitation of destruction, object additions, colour symbolism, turns into a visual message that can be interpreted as a language of communication and a communication system. The article presents the statements of Ukrainian designers H. Bobkova and A. Kocharovska about the changes in the guidelines of the Ukrainian fashion industry during the war. The opinions expressed by them convince us that the growing role of communication in costume design has become a steady trend in Ukrainian fashion in recent years.