KOREASCHOLAR

This study aims to analyze the expressive characteristics and aesthetic meanings of the uncanny in digital fashion, exploring its potential as a significant aesthetic device within contemporary fashion discourse. Drawing on theoretical frameworks by Freud, Heidegger, and Lacan, the study examines how digital fashion imagery disrupts conventional aesthetic norms through uncanny visual expressions that evoke psychological tension and perceptual ambiguity. A combined methodology of comprehensive literature review and systematic empirical case analysis was employed. A total of 96 digital fashion examples were collected from platforms including Google, YouTube, Showstudio and Instagram between January 2020 and March 2025. Selection criteria specifically targeted images exhibiting morphological variability, sensory instability, and ontological uncertainty, which are the three core expressive characteristics identified through both theoretical insights and empirical analysis. The results confirmed the consistent presence of these expressive characteristics in digital fashion works and further illuminated their aesthetic implications: digital fashion reconfigures the sensory framework, blurs ontological boundaries, and expands aesthetic experience by challenging viewers’ perceptual and cognitive expectations. In conclusion, this study deepens understanding of digital fashion aesthetics by systematically examining the uncanny within digital contexts and highlights the potential of digital fashion to expand aesthetic boundaries and possibilities for expressions based on sensory experiences.

Abstract
I. Introduction
II. Theoretical Background
    1. The concept and background of the uncanny
    2. Characteristics of the uncanny in the digitalenvironment
    3. Expressions of the uncanny in digital art
Ⅲ. Expressive Characteristics of theUncanny in Digital Fashion
    1. Morphological variability
    2. Sensory instability
    3. Ontological uncertainty
Ⅳ. The Meaning of the Uncanny inDigital Fashion
    1. The reconfiguration of sensory framework
    2. The blurring of ontological boundaries
    3. The expansion of aesthetic experience
Ⅴ. Conclusion
References

• Junho Kang(Ph. D., Dept. of Clothing & Textiles, Kyungpook National University, Korea) | 강준호 (경북대학교 의류학과 박사)
• Giyoung Kwon(Professor, Center for Beautiful Aging, Dept. of Clothing & Textiles, Kyungpook National University, Korea) | 권기영 (경북대학교 의류학과, 장수생활과학연구소 교수) Corresponding author