No. 1 (2023)
Essays

Knitting out the Touch Hunger: A Research Project to Design the Overcoming of Post-Pandemic Emotional Fear of Touching

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  • Martina Motta,
  • Giovanni Maria Conti
Martina Motta
Politecnico di Milano
Giovanni Maria Conti
Politecnico di Milano
first number yellow cover of fashion highlight journal with black logo
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/fh-2264

Published 2023-06-30

Keywords

  • Textile Design,
  • Knit Design,
  • Touch,
  • Human Feelings,
  • Post-Pandemic Behaviors

How to Cite

Motta, M., & Conti, G. M. (2023). Knitting out the Touch Hunger: A Research Project to Design the Overcoming of Post-Pandemic Emotional Fear of Touching. Fashion Highlight, (1), 76–85. https://doi.org/10.36253/fh-2264
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The pandemic has altered human attitudes affecting common gestures: hugs, kisses, hands shaking, all the human behaviors related to touching have become dangerous, generating what scientists called “touch hunger”. If with touch we define ourselves as our form of being in the world we are in front of complex touch-related costs that make people today feel lost and distant. Starting from this premise, the research team in the knit design of ***affiliation*** has been working to relate scientific data and innovative design languages to help people in redefining and rediscover the human attitudes that connect us with others. Exploiting digital technologies, innovative materials, and tactile surfaces belonging to the world of knitwear and textiles, researchers designed an emotional and sensorial journey to guide participants in overcoming the fear of touching, finding new possible ways of being together.

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