The research project and subsequent publication Listen Through My Eyes aims to shed light on an undervalued research methodology and form of knowledge: ones intuition. As a tutor at the MA Fashion Strategy (ArtEZ University of the Arts), Judith ter Haar has been teaching her students for the last seven years about tactic knowledge and intuition, as well as the Japanese concept of ‘Ba’: the recognition of the self in all (Nonaka & Konno 1998). When Judith started with this teaching method, it was still considered to be quite radical. Now, ‘intuition’ has become a buzzword. It, however, is often not used or described properly. With this publication, Judith will not only explain intuition and its value, but more importantly elaborate on how to use it as a (research) strategy.

Whereas analytical and cognitive methods are generally used for academic research in fashion, an explicit sensorial approach to research and education is relatively new. In the field of fashion, the visual is privileged, since idealised images are often projected onto clothes and bodies. This publication aims to draw more attention to the other senses besides seeing, and investigates how these can be trained. Training all the senses will allow for a deeper experience of knowledge when doing research.

Fashion is often studied in terms of its immaterial facets, and thus in terms of what it means and which codes it expresses. In the current discourse on fashion research, there is a growing awareness of the importance of taking into account the materiality and sensorial interaction between body and object as well. Judith ter Haar’s book will contribute to a better understanding of the affective, emotional and intuitive dimensions of fashion, which deserves more attention in fashion research and education. This will deepen the students’ ‘aesthetic experience’ (Harper 2012) and add another undervalued research dimension to their analyses and fashion strategies.

Listen Through My Eyes is a book publication on intuition. Through ‘socratic converstions’, both with students and inspirators of Judith ter Haar, the value of intuition and intuition as a research methodology will be discussed. The book’s structure is built up around the five senses: listening (as a more aware form of hearing), seeing, tasting, smelling and feeling. The senses will be translated into five dialogues, both in writing and in visuals. A final dialogue will shed a light on the methodology of teaching intuition, bringing together all the findings from the other dialogues.

An introduction to the project, as well as theoretical reflections upon the dialogues and their underlying philosophies will be written by scholars in the fields of fashion theory, affect, arts and culture education and aesthetic sustainability.

Image: Studio Judith ter Haar