Apparel Designing and Construction

Apparel Designing and Construction 3(1+2)

Lesson 7 : Elements of Design- Texture

Effects of Texture

The texture produces physical and psychological effects.

Physical effects: The different textures affect the appearance of the wearer. The texture of garments if is similar or dissimilar to that of the wearer’s skin texture, it will emphasize the person’s textures by either reinforcement or contrast. For example, satin will flatter smooth skin and will highlight the porous and wrinkled skin making it appear rougher whereas the opaque, somewhat harsh and firm fabric calls less comparison between fabric and wearer’s skin. The different figure types and suitability of different textures to them are given in Table 4.1.

Sl. No.	Type of figure	Suitable texture	Examples of fabric materials	Effects produced
1.	Thin	Glossy, stiff, crisp, heavy fabrics	Organza, spun cotton, corduroy, velvet	Enlarge the apparent size as a result of amount of light reflected by shiny surface; hanging away from body contours by stiff or crisp fabric; addition in bulkiness by pile and fuzzy fabric.
2.	Slender	All type of material can be used i.e., shiny and dull, limp and crisp, heavy and light and transparent fabrics	Satin, silk, organza, organdy, poplin, fur, velvet, corduroy, chiffon	Reveals body contours, emphasize angularity and softening of the figure.
3.	Heavy	Dull and medium weight fabrics	Cambric, poplin, spun cotton	Tend to decrease the size and contour lines of the wearer

• Psychological effects: The textures used in the garments also reflect the mood and attitude of the wearer. The psychological perception of the wearer occurs due to the visual, tactile and audible sensations of different textures.
• Visual effects: Different textures owing to their reaction to light appear to depict age, season, sophistication, personality and occasion. For example satin depicts sophistication, chiffon show delicacy and the opaque, firm and sturdy texture illustrates sporty mood.
• Tactile effects: The texture of the fabric is felt by the wearer from inside as well as from outside of the garment. This feel of the texture also suggest a particular mood. The softness and warmth of the flannel describes the cozy comfort required for sound sleep. The firm textures as worsted fabric reflects formality in the environment. Likewise silk depicts sensuous mood and firm but pliable depicts ease in movement and sense of freedom.
• Audible effects: Some textures also emit sound on friction that describes different moods of the wearer. For example, the rustle of taffeta or swish of satin depicts elegant mood, leather crackle suggests sporty mood.