AUTHOR=Vandi Angelica , Clark Judith 

TITLE=Fashion curation in dialogue. Toward a framework for codifying technology-enhanced curatorial practices in fashion

JOURNAL=European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/journals/european-journal-of-cultural-management-and-policy/articles/10.3389/ejcmp.2025.15196

DOI=10.3389/ejcmp.2025.15196

ISSN=2663-5771

ABSTRACT=This research investigates the intersection between curatorial practices and technological mediation in fashion exhibition design, and looks into how technological integration can build upon curatorial approaches. Technology has received significant attention concerning its integration within exhibition contexts; however, its mediation role in reshaping fashion curatorial processes remains uncodified. This study attempts to articulate an approach to augmenting curatorial practices through technology to deeper engage with and understand the multilayered narratives embedded within fashion artifacts. Drawing from cultural theory, the research positions curation as a critical practice of representation that bridges heritage and contemporary discourse. It explores how curatorial decisions–object selection, narrative construction, spatial arrangement, and visitor engagement–frame cultural storytelling mechanisms. Through design research–combining literature reviews with participatory observation–the article proposes a possible useful (non-exhaustive) codification of fashion curation, by proposing an interpretive framework comprising three interrelated models: Narrative (content and themes), Staging (spatial and visual storytelling), and Experience (audience interaction and mediation). The article describes then how the framework was used and tested through collaborative workshops between the authors and their reflexive analysis specifically focused on two case studies, specifically chosen to highlight the overlapping cresearch interests of the authors: Cristóbal Balenciaga: Fashion and Heritage “Conversations,” with a focus on object-centered curation within one archive, and Homo Faber: Fashion Inside and Out, with the brief to draw attention to fashion craftsmanship processes. Both exhibitions were curated and designed by Clark and had previously been analyzed by Vandi, who participated as an external observer. Since the exhibitions examined in the workshops did not include digital elements, the results of the workshops provided a basis for discussing how technologies, when purposefully integrated, can amplify the curatorial intent, the spatial narrative and enrich the cultural experience of visitors. Findings reveal how digital tools can serve not as add-ons but as integral components of the curatorial process, extending the power of “props” –intended as “exhibition prosthetics” used to mediate, complicate, and contextualize the objects on display–and narratives from behind-the-scenes decisions to public-facing engagement. The research introduces a conceptual and practical model for fashion curators, proposing a shift from technology as spectacle toward technology as strategic narrative enhancer. Implications may redefine the future design of exhibitions, informing both the practice of curation and the visitor experience in a more codified, interpretive, and technologically supported manner.