Heterotopia images of fashion space represented on Instagram - Focusing on the case of Ader Space in Korea

• Published in: The Research Journal of the Costume Culture Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 467 - 488
• Main Authors: Nadia, Syachfitrianti Gadis, Kim, Se Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 복식문화학회 31.08.2023
• Subjects: heterotopia; Instagram; Ader Space; fashion space; fashion image
• ISSN: 1226-0401; 2383-6334
• DOI: 10.29049/rjcc.2023.31.4.467

The purpose of this study is to determine the concepts of heterotopic image and fashion space, and the characteristics of fashion space and images from the perspective of fashion brands and users. This study examines the evolution of fashion space and consumers with it, based on Foucault’s theory of heterotopia, which refers to spaces that blend contradictory features not typically found within a single physical structure. This is accomplished by employing a single case study of Ader Error’s Ader Space, a Seoul-based brand known for its unique approach to presenting and communicating fashion. Based on an analysis of Instagram posts of Ader Error along with the hashtag searches “aderspace” and “adererror”, this study categorizes heterotopia from the perspective of fashion brands into three properties: fashion space as a medium for selling fashion products; fashion space as getaway to hybrid fashion practices; and fashion space as an illusionary place to experience fashion. From the user perspective, the heterotopic image of Ader Space portrayed on Instagram is characterized by the image of fashion products in an extraordinary fashion space, the image of a fashion space beyond space and time, and the image of exposing the hidden and the illusioncompensation of fashion space. This study contributes to a heightened understanding of the evolutionary concept of the fashion space.