JOURNAL #9 – A PROMPT

Three technological advances that advanced clothing in the Renaissance were the development of humanism, the printing press, and the textile industry all influenced clothing styles or ideas about the human body. The development of humanism clearly influenced the idea of the perfect proportioned human body which led to clothing being made to fit those “perfect proportions” of Vitruvius. The printing press influenced clothing much more subtly than humanism did. With the invention of the printing press many more people became literate now that the written language was in the vernacular and not latin. This invention led people to think more about knowledge and to seek it out which inturn could have subtly influenced clothing styles. When people learn more and become self aware they can focus on other subjects and influence different fields, one of those fields being clothing.

One other invention was the development of the textiles industry. Since the industry became much more advanced, that opened up the door to much more complex styles and fabrics. For example silks and velvets were now being made in Europe. This allowed for the styles to change and included these once rare and sought after fabrics. With the development of the textile industry also introduced the addition of textile guilds. Each guild had different designs to mark who made the fabric. This added more patterns and designs to clothing. I think the technological advance of social media in the 21st century has greatly influenced fast fashion and clothing styles. With new ideas always being introduced it created the idea of fads and quick fashion.