Fashion Designers Can Expand Their Role Beyond Aesthetics Through Dressmaking and Placemaking
Fashion designers can redefine their professional contribution by integrating dressmaking skills with placemaking strategies, moving beyond purely aesthetic concerns.
Aaltodoc (Aalto University) · 2018
Key Findings
- 01The social contribution of fashion design is often unclear within the contemporary fashion system.
- 02Dressmaking tradition has been overlooked in fashion studies compared to meaning-making and image-making aspects.
- 03Integrating dressmaking with placemaking offers a way to expand the role and impact of fashion designers.
- 04Fashion design is often undervalued due to perceptions of it being feminized and frivolous.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers should consider how their craft can actively shape environments and communities, not just create garments.
How to apply
When designing a fashion-related project, consider how the physical garments can interact with or influence a specific place or community, and how the making process can involve local stakeholders.
Project actions
- 01Consider a project that involves designing clothing for a specific public space or community event.
- 02Explore how the process of making the garment can involve local craftspeople or community members.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Addresses an under-researched area within fashion design studies.
- +Offers a novel framework for understanding the fashion designer's role.
Limitations
The findings are based on qualitative research in a specific city, so the results might not apply everywhere. The study focuses heavily on dressmaking, which is only one part of fashion design.
Reliability & validity
The qualitative nature of the study provides rich insights but may have limited generalizability. The use of a specific metaphor (weaving) and context (Helsinki) could influence findings.
Think critically
To what extent can the 'placemaking' aspect be applied to digital fashion or virtual environments, and how would this redefine the designer's role?
Design Principles
"Integrate material craft with spatial and social context to enhance professional contribution."
This research suggests that the traditional boundaries of fashion design can be expanded. By focusing on the tangible craft of dressmaking and its connection to physical spaces (placemaking), designers can engage with broader societal and community impacts, enhancing the perceived value and relevance of their profession.
What This Means for Your Design
Fashion designers can do more than just make clothes; they can use their skills to help build and improve communities and places.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing how to expand the scope of a design project beyond its immediate product, particularly if the project has a community or spatial element.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
(2018). Re(dis)covering Fashion Designers: Interweaving Dressmaking and Placemaking. Aaltodoc (Aalto University). Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/7d0b5ce4-9268-4001-9086-40a2aa731471/fashion-designers-can-expand-their-role-beyond-aesthetics-through-dressmaking-and-placemaking
Paragraph starter
This research highlights that fashion designers can broaden their professional impact by integrating dressmaking skills with placemaking strategies. By connecting the tangible craft of garment creation with the shaping of physical environments and communities, designers can move beyond purely aesthetic concerns and enhance the perceived value and relevance of their profession, offering a model for design projects aiming for broader social and spatial contributions.
Source
Aaltodoc (Aalto University)
Re(dis)covering Fashion Designers: Interweaving Dressmaking and Placemaking
journal · 2018
View sourceQuestions about this research
- What does the research say about fashion designers can expand their role beyond aesthetics through dressmaking and placemaking?
- Designers should consider how their craft can actively shape environments and communities, not just create garments. Evidence: Aaltodoc (Aalto University) (2018).
- Why does "Fashion Designers Can Expand Their Role Beyond Aesthetics Through Dressmaking and Placemaking" matter for design?
- This research suggests that the traditional boundaries of fashion design can be expanded. By focusing on the tangible craft of dressmaking and its connection to physical spaces (placemaking), designers can engage with broader societal and community impacts, enhancing the perceived value and relevance of their profession.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers should consider how their craft can actively shape environments and communities, not just create garments.
- What were the main findings?
- The social contribution of fashion design is often unclear within the contemporary fashion system.. Dressmaking tradition has been overlooked in fashion studies compared to meaning-making and image-making aspects.. Integrating dressmaking with placemaking offers a way to expand the role and impact of fashion designers.. Fashion design is often undervalued due to perceptions of it being feminized and frivolous.
- What research method was used?
- Qualitative research, case study.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2018 journal from Aaltodoc (Aalto University).
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a fashion-related project, consider how the physical garments can interact with or influence a specific place or community, and how the making process can involve local stakeholders.
- What are the limitations?
- The research is specific to Helsinki, Finland, and may not be directly generalizable to all cultural or economic contexts. The focus on dressmaking might not encompass all facets of contemporary fashion design.
- Is there evidence that designers affects design outcomes?
- Fashion design's societal impact is often underestimated, partly because the practical skill of dressmaking is less valued than the conceptual aspects. By linking dressmaking to creating and shaping places, designers can broaden their professional scope and increase their perceived value. This research suggests that th Source: Aaltodoc (Aalto University) (2018).
- Where does this dressmaking research apply?
- Fashion design, urban design, placemaking, craft traditions It sits within innovation & design research on designdex.org.
Related research topics
designers design research · evidence on designers · does designers improve design outcomes · dressmaking studies for designers · designers and dressmaking findings · innovation & design research evidence