• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.197-202
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• 2007

The femme fatale image presently observable in various fields is reproducing its image through repetitive imitation, change and application, in particular, through 'movies' which have a greater ripple effect on the public than any other mass media by incessantly producing a countless number of images. This study aims to figure out the intrinsic meaning and the characteristics of the image of femme fatale, understand the modern expression of it in movies and finally shed light on its image represented in Korean movies. For this study, the literature and internet materials related to the image of femme fatale in the movie "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" and the general concept of femme fatale were comprehensively surveyed. The femme fatale image which is represented in this movie is classified into 4 images ; disguise & mystery, retribution & cruelty, enchantment & beauty, salvation & redemption. The findings of this study provide an insight into how the femme fatale image is expressed in movies, the mass media which has a gigantic ripple effect, and provide the momentum to recognize the need and significance of understanding the femme fatale image represented in Korean movies.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.11-25
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• 2008

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) is a painter renown for his romantic beautiful femme fatale images in the late 19th century in England. The purpose of this study is to examine the fashion in Waterhouse's femme fatale images. Waterhouse displays the devilism of femme fatale by the symbols of a wicked woman. He emphasized how wicked she is by means of water such as lake, river, and sea as well as symbols associated with demons such as forest, cave, naked woman, long hair, a monster-headed woman looking like an animal, water lily, and garden. On the other hand, he illustrates the woman's style as an image of a typical feminine beauty. Expressing naturally a fine-curved, immature girl's body with marvel-like white and clear skin in a kneeling down or crouching passive rose and depicting it as an innocent and fragile feminine image, he created a passive and lovely image of a young girl. With her eminent beauty and sex appeals, she lured men into danger. Words such as evil, women, and death had been used in describing her as femme fatale to emphasize her wickedness as well as to deliver the meaning across from the inside and to the outside. They also described her as a type of woman with body posture and fashion corresponding to the sexual ideology during the Victorian Age. His description of this fashion image was to show that femme fatale's fashion, which represents attraction and fatality, does not necessarily translate to an active fashion style that emphasizes sensuality. It also tends to minimize resistance and feelings of being threatened. Therefore, it allons us to acknowledge that even girlish body with innocent and frail-looking fashion can be a form of femme fatale, and that fashion styles is essential in forming the image of femininity.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.15 no.3 s.68
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• pp.431-445
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to analyze and theorize the characteristics of femme fatale in fashion illustration since 1980. The method of this study was to analyze the documentaries for theoretical studies about femme fatale and the visual characteristics in fashion illustration works since 1980. The results of this study were as follows: Femme fatale expressed in the general realm of art was icon of fatal and seductive eroticism in late 19th century. She is composed of diverse images like mythology, exoticism, fear and sensuality. The characteristics of her image in fashion illustration were expressed into de-body image by union of animal and female body, or machine and female body, duplicity of death and sexuality, sexual decadence or abnormality and powerful masculine taste. First, de-body image by union of animal and female body, or machine and female body was expressed in transformed mythical image or bizarre and demonic image, grotesque image linked by picture of female body and painting of animal image, and cyborg image linked by machine and realistic female body by digital media. Second, duplicity of death and sexuality was expressed in juxtaposition by sexual pose, body and something metaphorical and symbolic depiction and de-constructive depiction of death. Third, sexual decadence or abnormality was expressed in fetishistic style, obscene depiction of cheap and hedonistic sexuality, masochistic depiction like antisocial and diseased sex appeal. Forth, powerful masculine taste was expressed in man's face, body, pose, masculine fashion, man's role related to crime and threatening weapon, etc. As mentioned above, femme fatale in fashion illustration was expressed in diverse images by fashion illustrator's point of view. Although she was originated by men's fantastic vision, she brings a catharsis to human being. And she is also recognized as new paradigm and positive cultural sign in our times.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.155-161
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• 2011

This thesis, concerning Femme Fatale Images Costume Form in paintings viewed from DeLong's Theory, analyzed frequency and traits on the basis of DeLong's Form Observation Theory and drew out the result as followings. First, Costume Form was mostly open, whole, planer integration, rounded, and indeterminate. The styles were similar each other. Second, surface structure was expressed by line & shape, color, texture, and pattern of which color had the highest priority. Next, line & shape and texture had the priority in order. They were expressed through intereaction. Third, the traits of Costume Form were a similar color harmony or large light and darkness contrast+soft quality+interaction by ambiguous line & shape. So, Femme Fatale Image in paintings was expressed by soft and pure images and erotic images.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.16-33
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• 2004

Up to now, image of femme fatale has undergone constant transformation to be inherited and developed through various genres of movies. With few exceptions such cases have represented sensuality of women by costumes with the most distinctive and exaggerated sexuality. Temptresses in movies are mostly drawn as extravagant and gorgeous one or a gloomy and dreary woman. Such an image is reinforced with make-up, hair style, accessories, attitude and manner of talking. The movie 'Chicago' is a musical film that crosses the boundaries of reality and fantasy with dancing and singing. Its lighting, stage setting, powerful and sexy dancing augmented already exaggerated and sensual costumes. Following is the analysis of costumes for two heroines as images of femme fatale. Strong contrast of color among black, red and blue on see-through & stickingly tight body suit signifies liberal mind and arrogant charisma of Velma. The contrast, haughty gestures, cropped black hair and thick makeups represent sex appeal, aggressive image, and fearlessly determined character of femme fatale. Roxie wears decent dresses in front of public and gorgeous stage costume in fantasy to convey two images of bad girl and angel. Her body suit, showing off lustering materials and dazzling bead decoration, is rather loose but still displays her bodyline to emphasize sexiness for representation of desire in fantasy. Chastity and innocence are implied with the decency of dresses in reality. They were specially chosen to draw public sympathy and indicate cunning disguise of Roxy who desperately wants to realize her desire. These dauntless costumes, which sufficiently express inside aspirations of Velma and Roxie later denote open and realistic social yearning rather than fatal desire hidden behind sensual beauty. It doesn't exist as imperfect, unrealistic and socially disdainful ambition as the image of femme fatale of paintings and movies did before in history. Femme fatale is expressed with deep cleavage, silk dresses that explicitly display bodyline, sexiness of mesh stockings with garter belts. All of these won't be utilized as a negative tool to seduce and destroy someone anymore but rather, they should represent rightful and fair nature of humans such as men's curiosity who secretly steal a look at them or female sexuality that women spontaneously want to show off.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.721-730
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to analyze the tech fatale fashion image in female models of mobile advertisements and to find the fashion characteristics. The tech fatale emerging as new culture code is a compound word of the femme fatale and technology. It is characteristics of the femme fatale, the post digital culture and the female leadership. The findings of the study were as follows : The tech fatale types were the independence, the transformation and the tradition. The independence was a self expression, appealed to visual image, was showed the coating fabric, denim, space look and street fashion and reflected the creativeness and digital generation. The transformation appealed to sexuality and was showed luster fabric, exposure, body-conscious, glam look. The voluptuous beauty represented the pride of the post digital generation. The tradition appealed to emotion and was showed pale color, simple line, soft texture fabric and a feminine Image. The meanings of tech fatale were the imagination, the public, the duality, the game, the purity and the recurrence. The formative characteristics reflect the mind of post digital generation who is against authority and pursues the human being worth such as the identity establishment and the pure emotion.

• Proceedings of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association Conference
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• autumn
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• pp.142-144
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• 2004

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.382-396
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to analyze the transition of glamour style expressed in modern fashion throughout the history. The glamour style in modern fashion was categorized into five periods which are Hollywood glamour(H), Feminine glamour(F), Rich glamour(R), Decadent glamour(D), and Trash glamour(T). These categories were analyzed and compared in the viewpoint of aesthetic values deduced on the previous study. As a method of analysis, literature study and case study through the publications in aesthetics, history and preceding theses were used. The results of analysis are: Ostentatious luxury was suggested by extravagance of the movie star in H, the splendid American lifestyle in F, conspicuous consumption in R, fin de siecle bad taste in D and self-assured exposure in T. Mysterious idolatry was studied as exaggerated goddesshood of the movie star in H. It was expanded to celebrities including fashion models, television actresses, pop singers and young couture designers in the other periods. Artificial sensuality was originated from the femme fatale image of the courtesan as well as the traditional femininity of Victorian era in H. It was developed through exaggerated hourglass silhouette of the wife dressing in F. But an aggressiveness in R, a hyper-sexual femme fatale in D, an independent and defiant image of the showgirl in T were observed. Playful queerness stood out clearly by the fin de siecle phenomena. Though it was embodied in sexual perversive subculture, it emerged as hi fashion by young designers in the late R and became a crucial aesthetic value throughout D and T. It is more connected with the origins of glamour which arouses sexual ambiguity, crudity, aggressiveness and death. The continuity and discontinuity of the glamour style based on the theory of 'linked solution' were also analyzed.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.16-29
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• 2008

The purpose of this essay is to know the expressed form and color and also to examine the inner symbolic meaning of the movie "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" by producer Chan-Wook Park. In the movie, the main character Geumja has double personality, having both images of a wicked woman and a woman saint, and she showed the clothing of both good and evil. For example, while she was in prison, her prisoner uniform while she was taking care of her inmates, her pajama which is the symbol of innocence when she was atoning and praying, Geumja's appearance wasn't fabulous when she was wearing baker's cloth that symbolize pure inside. But in contrast, Geumja who was released from prison planned and execute vengeance, dress colorful dress and primary color make-ups. Blue color coat with gloomy mood, black leather coat with the image of female warrior, and the slip with intensive image and etc express Geumja's will of revenge. Like this, depend on the psychology of main character Geumja, it's easy to recognize the change of clothing and color, and it's possible to understand the symbolic meaning in it.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.867-877
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• 2009

These days, the fantastic in opposition to classic beauty becomes a genre of creative body expression. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expressive characteristics of body types and meanings in recent fantastic fashion illustration. The method of this study was to analyze recent documentaries, fashion books, internet web site and so forth. The results were as follows: In literatures, pictures and movies, the category of the fantastic body's expressive types were classified as dominant mutant based on SF, multi body or fragment body by disruption, heterogeneous compound based on myth, personified humanoid and non substance in supernatural boundary. The dominant mutant based on SF was expressed image morphing, composition of machine image with body and modern metamorphosis of classic SF body. It means propensity to post-feminism and reservation of meaning analysis based on human unconsciousness. The multi body or fragment body by disruption in fashion illustration was expressed distorted composition of same body pictures, replacement of different bodies, deconstruction and partial omission of body and composition of meaning or non meaning images. It means permanence of self and basic narcissism. The heterogeneous compound based on myth was expressed general composition or optical illusion of various and aggressive animal motive. It means reinterpretation of original myth, metaphor of basic femme fatale, pursuit of permanence and sign of primitive mind in unconsciousness. The personified humanoid was expressed real human body description of mannequin or ball joint doll and anthropomorphism of robot image. It means representative satisfaction and nostalgia of childhood. The non substance in supernatural boundary was expressed grotesque description of ghost, zombie, vampire, angel, fairy, using of symbolic red, black color and non body. It means human's basic desire about immortality and taboo. Through the result of these study, the expression of fantastic body in fashion illustration will expend expressive method and we will understand human and cultural codes of today.