Fashion as Design: Men’s Guide to Creating Visually Balanced Outfits

What is Visual Hierarchy?

In design, visual hierarchy is a principle that dictates the order in which the human eye perceives what it sees, in order of importance. This helps guide the viewer towards the main focal point within a unified composition.

The goal of using the principle of visual hierarchy is to create a single unified composition. In a composition, multiple separate elements come together to form one whole, cohesive design. In the case of creating outfits, all the separate components, such as the garments and accessories, come together to form one unified outfit.

” DESIGN IS THE PROCESS OF FINDING EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN THOUSANDS OF CONFLICTING CONSTRAINTS.” 

-Alvar Aalto, Architect/Designer

There are three levels within a visual hierarchy: the dominant, subdominant, and subordinate components.

• The dominant element is the main focal point, as it draws the most attention from the viewer’s eyes.
• The subdominant element is the secondary component, which helps ease the transition from the dominant components to the background.
• The subordinate elements have the least visual weight and fade into the background to help further support the dominant element(s).

In this article, we’ll be focusing on the following 3 ways to establish hierarchy in your outfit, in order to create more visual balance:

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1. SILHOUETTE AND VISUAL BALANCE

WHAT IS SILHOUETTE?

Silhouette is the overall outline or shape of a garment, as shown in image A. 

Altering the silhouette can be used as a tool to augment the perceived body shape of the wearer to a more interesting form. Experimenting with this augmentation by wearing garments of different fits and proportions can create visually unique forms on the body. Let’s take a look at some examples.

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2. CREATING HIERARCHY USING PRINT

Prints can serve as a focal component in an outfit and be visually impactful. Prints are garments that have repeated patterns printed or woven onto the fabric such as florals, geometrics, stripes, etc. The subdominant component can be a supportive secondary focal point by picking out specific solid colors found within the dominant print. Choosing neutral tones for subordinate pieces will in turn draw the eye towards the dominant print, and portray a more appealing visual balance.

COLOUR SCHEME PRINT

This dark floral printed jacket serves as the visual focal point in the outfit. A close subdominant component is found in the pants and shirt, which bring out the different tones of olive found within the print. The look is tied together with subordinate accessories such as the black tie and sunglasses.

Choosing a color or color scheme to be the dominant component in an outfit can pack a visual punch. The subdominant piece should add more interest into the outfit but not detract from or compete with the dominant piece. Subordinate pieces will fall into the background and serve as the neutral base layer.

3. CREATING HIERARCHY USING COLOR

SINGLE COLOUR POP

The colour pop in this outfit is exaggerated by its large, billowy silhouette. The jacket makes him appear wider. Choosing a single colour pop can be an easy yet effective way to create unique outfit compositions.

The dominance of the yellow coat in this outfit is  exaggerated by the long, baggy silhouette of its construction.

As the eye moves downwards along the coat, the eye is drawn to the reflective material of the patent leather shoes. The brightness of the yellow coat is nicely contrasted with the subtle line of the white soles, which matches the luminance of the yellow.

The subordinate components in this outfit are the black base layer underneath the coat. The matte quality of the black outfit allow the coat and shoes to pop as much as possible.

BONUS: Notice how the base layer has its own visual hierarchy and has been curated for when the trench coat is taken off. The black outfit will still be visually appealing because the black baggy jacket is offset with the sleek line of the fitted, tapered pants.

ACCESSORY COLOURS

This outfit is a great example of visual hierarchy through colour pop. There are several components in this outfit yet they do not compete with each other, thus we perceive this as a unified composition.

The dominant yellow pieces here are placed strategically so the eye moves down the body. The placement of the hat at the top of the silhouette, the bag at the midline of the silhouette, and the socks at the bottom of the silhouette are equidistant, so the pieces pop without competing with each other.

In contrast, the gray garments serve as a great subdominant layer to balance the pop of the accessories. Although the long gray coat is baggy, the silhouette is mostly straight and continues to draw the eyes downward along the body.

The subordinate pieces here would be the solid white mock neck shirt and the black pieces. He’s accented the black of the adidas logo with the black leather trim in the hat, black leather belt, and black leather shoes. Even the details of the matching metal belt buckle with the metal frames of the sunglasses raise the level of visual interest without detracting from the main focal points.

SOURCES: 

https://visme.co/blog/visual-hierarchy/, https://99designs.com/blog/tips/6-principles-of-visual-hierarchy, Bottom Heavy Silhouette Photo: Shui Tsang wearing Yohji Yamamoto, Loose Yet Fitted Photo: https://theidleman.com/mens-street-style/look/3540-the-grunge-look, Print Color Matching Photo: Trevor Sturrman Pitti Uomo, Color Scheme Print Photo: Vogue Hommes, Single Color Pop Photo: Central Saint Martins MA AW15 London Fashion Week, Accessory Colors Photo: Jonathan Pope