Abstract:
Generally, the term “Fashion” is used for European dresses. Fashion is a fast-moving industry
in Europe that caters to consumers from the high-street towards haute couture (High Fashion)
market level. The European fashion industry drives with seasonal trends which show rapid
changes every two weeks. European fashion consumers are a stakeholder in the cycle of desire
that is created by trendsetters of the Fashion Industry. East dress simply does not consider
seasonal changes as fashion. The dress of the East resembles mainly the culture. Sustainability,
heritage, cultural norms, and values, national identity is key in East dress which shows ethnic
identity which enables gives exotic clothing tastes to European consumers. Practically, the East
has been embraced by Europe as a visual delicacy, creating concrete issues of dress in Fashion
academia. It is expected to analyze the Western interpretation of East dress by comparing
dresses created by Western Fashion designers who were inspired by East dress characteristics.
The research is qualitative data analysis. The reliability of data is much concerned. Data were
collected from primary and secondary sources. Selected designers from the history of Western
fashion were studied. Original dresses which were created by European fashion designers that
are displayed at the world museums were observed. East dress characteristics are discussed
according to Sri Lankan historical dress examples. Selected dresses of Asia, Saree, cloak,
Kimono dress details, and their inspiration power are discussed. Scholarly written research
papers, books, websites, fashion blogs were read and collected relent data. It was found that the
East dress has achieved a different interpretation in Europe. Actual usage has been excluded in
Europe. It was noted that European designers pay more attention to asymmetric, fluid drapery
effects of East dress. East dress became an art piece in Europe. It can be identified as a unique
selling point of Asian dresses.
