This reading list gathers thinkers, designers, and teachers whose work inspires “the heart is an eye.” Together, they invite a slower, more compassionate way of seeing and being in fashion.

CONTEMPLATING FASHION

Clark, Hazel. “SLOW + FASHION: An Oxymoron or a Promise for the Future?” Fashion Theory (2008)

Argues for slowing down the fashion system and reconnecting design with sensory, ethical, and local dimensions of making and wearing.

Eco, Umberto. “Lumbar Thought.” In Faith in Fakes (1976).

A philosophical reflection on how material form shapes behavior and mood — connecting clothing’s physicality with perception and selfhood.

Entwistle, Joanne. The Fashioned Body: Fashion, Dress and Modern Social Theory. (2000)

Explores dress as an embodied social practice, emphasizing how clothing mediates between self, culture, and material world.

Findlay, Rosie. “Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On.” Cultural Studies Review (2016)

Reflects on how fashion transforms identity and feeling through sensory imagination and self-performance.

Fletcher, Kate. Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys. (2012)

A foundational text exploring emotional durability and how the life of a garment extends through care, attachment, and embodied use.

Fletcher, Kate & Tham, Mathilda. Earth Logic: Fashion Action Research Plan. (2019)

A visionary manifesto urging fashion practitioners to place ecological and social well-being before growth — deeply resonant with Buddhist ethics.

Press, Clare. Wear Next: Fashioning the Future. (2023)

Examines the psychological and cultural challenges of sustainable fashion and how new narratives can reshape the industry’s future.

Woodward, Sophie. Why Women Wear What They Wear. (2007)

An intimate ethnography revealing how daily clothing choices are grounded in embodied habit, emotion, and lived experience.

CONTEMPLATING BUDDHISM


Baker, Ian. Tibetan Yoga: Principles and Practices. (2019)

Explores the Vajrayana Buddhist understanding of body and imagination as essential tools for liberation — a philosophical foundation for this project’s meditations.


Chapple, Christopher. Living Landscapes: Meditations on the Five Elements in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain Yogas. (2020)

A contemplative exploration of nature, embodiment, and the elements, inspiring the platform’s ecological and sensory awareness.


Gleig, Ann. American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity. (2019)

Explores postmodern Buddhism’s intersection with technology, identity, and culture — essential for understanding mindfulness in contemporary life.


Klein, Anne Carolyn. “Feelings Bound and Freed: Wandering and Wonder on Buddhist Pathways.” Contemporary Buddhism (2018)

Discusses how sensation and emotion are central to Buddhist practice, offering insight into embodiment as a path to awareness.


Purser, Ronald E. McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality. (2019)

A critical look at the commercialization of mindfulness and a reminder to approach spiritual practices ethically and consciously.


Wagner, Rachel & Accardo, Christopher. “Buddhist Apps: Skillful Means or Dharma Dilution?” in Buddhism, the Internet, and Digital Media (2015)

Analyzes how digital mindfulness platforms adapt Buddhist teachings — offering critical insight for anyone engaging with meditation online.


von Busch, Otto. The Dharma of Fashion: A Buddhist Approach to Our Life with Clothes. (2020)

Explores how Buddhist philosophy can transform fashion into a mindful practice rooted in compassion, awareness, and interdependence.