The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1347392
She observed that there was a destructive and voyeuristic nature to monitoring ourselves closely with sensors that could trace such data, one that could not possibly accurately represent emotions. This kind of scientific look into human behavior is not, Gao clarifies, the reason she chooses to design what she does. Her true mission? To examine such technology in a poetic dimension that gets the true message across. For example, her project, "Incertitudes," looks closely at the uncertainty of the future that we often allow to define ourselves, noting that we tend to exist not for what is around us but what we guess is to come in the future. The garments of this artistic study are activated by voice, but Gao utilizes technology as only a channel for her metaphorical ideas. The pieces engage their audience on a conversational level, filled with misunderstandings and unreliability. It was created with the intention to resonate with the modern individual who, in a world of fast technological innovation with an emphasis on time, often feels overwhelmed by a perceived urgency. Her inspirations for this work were that of the sound that dressmaker pins create when moving-- reproducing a sort of subtle, inexplicable dialogue between the creative process and the final result. She also refers to Hussein Chalayan, a fashion designer with interactive clothing dating back to the early 2000s, as an inspiration for "Incertitude" and her view of fashion as a whole. The fashion industry is not limited to one idea but rather exists as a constantly evolving way to express individuality and comment on all that we know, as well as all that we do not. Ying Gao embodies the true meaning of fashion, embracing and exploring the good and the bad of human nature through pieces that remind us why fashion is revered as one of the most intricate and beautiful forms of art. V U E N J .C O M 44