Creative Design: Professional

Embodied Dialogues

---

Abstract

This design explores the intersection of identity, neurodiversity, and maternal experience through personal narrative and traditional Korean aesthetics. Drawing on Parker’s (2002) theory of maternal ambivalence, the project embraces caregiving's emotional complexity as a source of creative generativity. Inspired by my neurodivergent son’s detailed subway map drawings, I transformed his visual language into digitally printed chiffon, creating a tactile textile that bridges mother and child.The garment reinterprets traditional Korean forms—specifically the Durumagi (overcoat) and Baji (pants)—through layered construction and contemporary patternmaking. Feminine elements such as bishop sleeves and ruffles subvert the masculine Hanbok silhouette, creating visual and symbolic tension between tradition and transformation. The result is a narrative artifact that merges cultural heritage, neurodivergent cognition, and maternal identity. This work contributes to design scholarship by proposing a relational, autobiographical model for fashion practice that values caregiving and atypical perception as generative sites for material and conceptual innovation.

 

Keywords: Visual language, cultural history, personal narrative

How to Cite:

Gam, H., (2025) “Embodied Dialogues”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 82(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.21931