Hallyu-Inspired Water Bottle Sling: What is the Opposing Aesthetic?

 

My project’s aesthetic is slightly modified and unique. It kind of contrasts itself in a way… (which is what I was aiming for anyways). I wanted to capture the K-pop concert fashion trends that I have seen in person and on social media.

 

My project has both light and dark sides to it, with the primary elements/features remaining the same, but with different colors used (either pastels/white for the light concept and black/dark tones for the dark concept). Thus, the color palletes involved do not necessarily reveal an obvious opposite aesthetic.

If I were basing my aesthetic purely on the Hallyu aesthetic (without my own creative twist on it), then grunge or goth may be direct oppositions to the traditional light palette and cutesy elements… but what opposes the aesthetic I am actually trying to achieve?

 

In a way, my upcyling project can be considered a combination of various aesthetics- mainly the Light/Dark Coquette aesthetics (ribbons, lace, pearls, etc.) or the E-girl (chains, fishnets, and leather belts) aesthetic. For both the light and dark concepts, a lot of feminine elements are used, such as skirts, tight-fitting clothes, lace/ribbon, bows, makeup, etc. 

 

 

Thus, I felt like an opposite aesthetic would be the Tomboy aesthetic.

 

The Tomboy aesthetic is considered to be influenced by more masculine (or androgynous) clothing and styles, such as loose-fitting, baggy, and oversized clothes. Other common fashion trends involve sneakers, combat boots, and hats/caps. Hair styles are typically tied-back (buns or ponytails), cut short, or natural (with minimal styling). [7] For modern-day tomboy aesthetics, makeup usage can vary from none to heavy, which varies from past Tomboy trends of none to minimal makeup. Thus, many elements are in direct opposition to the more feminine aspects associated with Coquette/E-girl.

 

Although Tomboy fashion can have feminine elements incorporated (jewelry, clothing items, etc.), these elements are typically styled in a more masculine manner. Thus, the Tomboy aesthetic seems quite different from my project’s aesthetic, which will specificially involve heavy use of ribbons, charms/pearls, lace, pastels. Additionally, my project’s aesthetic is based on fashion that commonly includes tight-fitting clothes, fishnets, heavy/creative makeup, and more feminine items (jewelry, skirts, dresses, heels, etc). Looking at primarily the different fashion trends in for each aesthetic (my project vs. Tomboyish), there seems to be clear contrasts.

I don’t think the opposite aesthetic necessarily would impact the function of the product I am making for my upcycling project. However, the current materials that I have would be difficult to utilize if trying to achieve a Tomboyish aesthetic instead. My materials/design has a lot of pastels, ribbons, or just other feminine-heavy aspects. Thus, using lace or ribbon to show a Tomboy aesethic would be hard… My dark red fabric could possibly be used, but my lilac fabric would be more associated with feminine colors. The “chain” I have could still work with a Tomboy theme, but my pearls and flower charms would not align… My base material being jeans could definitely contribute to a Tomboyish vibe, but my overall design would not work. Since I designed my product for a specific aesthetic, my materials and colors are heavily influenced by that selected aesthetic. Thus, to achieve the opposite aesthetic, in this case a Tomboy aesthetic, I would have to re-select almost all materials and completely re-design the water bottle sling.

Still, I think that points towards success in my design achieving a certain aesthetic, since it would be really difficult to achieve the opposite aesthetic with my current design and materials!

 

The featured image is another example of Tomboy fashion. The photo was obtained from Maggie Yundt on Pinterest [7].

 

 

[1] https://shop.kawaiimoristore.com/products/coquette-blue-bow-princess-dress

 

[2] https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Tomboy#Fashion

 

[3] https://pin.it/D6EKBhiXo

 

[4] https://pin.it/1nsCxKg6t

 

[5] https://pin.it/2eHvFkVwT

 

[6] https://www.vogue.com/vogueworld/article/kristen-stewart-charlies-angels-blazer-jeans-baseball-cap

 

[7] https://pin.it/1igS7C44r