What is the relationship between fashion and architecture?

Both fashion and architecture express ideas of personal, social and cultural identity, reflecting the needs of the user and the spirit of the times. The relationship between fashion and architecture is a symbiotic one, and throughout history clothing and buildings have echoed one another in form and appearance. This symbiosis is only natural as they share the primary function of providing shelter and protecting the body but also because they both create space and volume out of flat two-dimensional materials. While fashion and architecture share many traits, they are also fundamentally different. Both realms address the human scale, but the proportions, sizes and shapes they adopt differ enourmously. A piece of fashion design is often intended to be used by an individual whereas architecture is often intended for use by multiple people at a given moment. Also, while fashion is by its very nature ephemeral or 'of the moment', architecture traditionally has a more solid, monumental and permanent presence.

By Erandi de Silva on April 28, 2008 6:39 PM