The Chromatic Turn in Fashion Environment: From Radical to Sensory Experience Design

Authors

  • Paulo Eduardo Hauqui Tonin Politecnico di Milano
  • Marinella Ferrara Politecnico di Milano

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23738/CCSJ.170203

Keywords:

Chromatic Semiotics , Radical Design, Design Primario, Fashion Environment, Sensory Experience Design

Abstract

This article investigates the evolving role of color in the fashion environment, tracing its development from the conceptual shifts introduced by Italian Design movements of the 1970s and 1980s to contemporary practices involving sensorial and experiential Design. Anchored in historical references such as Radical Design and Design Primario, the study employs a historical-literature analysis to examine how color has transitioned from a predominantly visual-functional element in modernist Design to a complex language of symbolic, emotional, and multisensory significance. The article demonstrates how chromatic strategies have operated as semiotic devices capable of shaping identities and experiences. The theoretical contribution lies in reframing color as an experiential, cultural, and projective agent, offering a critical and transdisciplinary reading that bridges historical avant-garde approaches with contemporary sensory strategies.

Author Biography

  • Marinella Ferrara, Politecnico di Milano

    Architect and PhD in Design, Marinella Ferrara has been active in academia since 1992. She is Associate Professor of Industrial Design at the Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano. She currently teaches Product Design and History of Design and Technology at the School of Design, where she also organize design workshops in collaboration with industry partners and leads innovative teaching initiatives under the Passion in Action program. She is also a faculty member of the PhD in Design. Since 2015, she has been the Head of MADEC – the Material Design Culture Research Group, where her research investigates the strategic role of materials in design-driven innovation, both historically and in contemporary contexts. Her current focus lies on new materials and materialities —particularly related to smart and adaptive materials, bio-based e waste-based materials—in relation to the twin transition (digital and ecological) and emerging approaches to design education, craftsmanship, and manufacturing. Her key publications include: Materials and Innovation in Design (Gangemi, 2004); Materials that Change Colour (Springer, 2014); Ideas and the Matter (ListLab, 2017); Materials that Move: Smart Materials, Intelligent Design (Springer, 2018).

    Since 2011, she has served as Editor-in-Chief of PAD – Pages on Arts & Design (padjournal.net), a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal. She is also a member of the ADI Permanent Design Observatory, for Materials and Technical Systems evalutation. Prof. Ferrara actively contributes to research evaluation panels, collaborating with national and international agencies such as ANR (France), NWO (Netherlands) and FCT (Portugal).

    Selected awards and recognitions: Top Innovation Award (2019) by the China Industrial Design Association (CIDA), named among the Top 10 Educators for Industrial Design; Honourable Mention ADI Design Index 2019 for the book Materials that Move; Honourable Mention ADI Design Index 2021 for editing SocialDesign. Design and the Common Good, # 12–13 (vol. 7, 2020) AIS/Design. History and Research.

    Since 2023, she has served as the Scientific Director of Capacity Building Projects for the Royal College of Traditional Arts in Saudi Arabia (TRITA ), contributing to co-designing and developing of Higher Diploma and Master Degree programs for WRTH and related initiatives under the MOU between TRITA and Politecnico di Milano.

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Published

2025-10-31

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 02 (2025):

Section

Design and Fashion Design: A Chromatic History

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Copyright (c) 2025 Paulo Eduardo Hauqui Tonin, Marinella Ferrara

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The "Cultura e Scienza del Colore - Color Culture and Science" journal is registered at the Court of Milan at n.233 of 24.06.2014.

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