Abstract
This paper sets out to view disability from a medical construct to a multi-faceted approach, considering biological, psychological and social factors. This helps us understand the need for a phenomenological approach to address disability from a ‘lived’ perspective, acknowledging the personal experiential dimension. A perspective this research adopts to underpin an argument that aesthetics from a cultural perspective plays a role in ‘Extraordinary’ wellbeing, as the study explores how the condition Raynaud’s shapes a ‘dys-appearing’ body through material experience. This paper presents research that investigates how women living with Raynaud’s negotiate their impairment through the mediums of clothing and fashion. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews and wardrobe studies, informed by Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The findings reveal the ‘material experience’ of ten women with ‘Extraordinary’ requirements and highlighted how aesthetics is fundamental to enhance wearer’s pleasurable and inclusive experiences on a personal and public level.
Keywords
disability; well-being; aesthetics; fashion; clothing
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.897
Citation
Shawgi, L. (2024) Design For ‘Extraordinary’ Well-being: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis To Understand The ‘lived Experience’ Of Women Living With A ‘Dys-appearing’ Body Through Materials, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.897
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Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Design For ‘Extraordinary’ Well-being: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis To Understand The ‘lived Experience’ Of Women Living With A ‘Dys-appearing’ Body Through Materials
This paper sets out to view disability from a medical construct to a multi-faceted approach, considering biological, psychological and social factors. This helps us understand the need for a phenomenological approach to address disability from a ‘lived’ perspective, acknowledging the personal experiential dimension. A perspective this research adopts to underpin an argument that aesthetics from a cultural perspective plays a role in ‘Extraordinary’ wellbeing, as the study explores how the condition Raynaud’s shapes a ‘dys-appearing’ body through material experience. This paper presents research that investigates how women living with Raynaud’s negotiate their impairment through the mediums of clothing and fashion. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews and wardrobe studies, informed by Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The findings reveal the ‘material experience’ of ten women with ‘Extraordinary’ requirements and highlighted how aesthetics is fundamental to enhance wearer’s pleasurable and inclusive experiences on a personal and public level.