Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, İzmir, 2004 / Includes bibliographical references (leaves. 142).

Thesis (M.Arch.)(Prof.)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Title from opening screen (viewed 11 April 2005). Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references

M. Tech. Fashion Design and Technology / For students to remain competitive in their respective industries, it has become essential for them to be trained in the use of discipline relevant software programs. When focusing on Computer Aided Design (CAD) training for fashion specifically, certain challenges arise. Traditionally software instruction focused on teaching the interface, tools and functions of a software program as opposed to it being used appropriately within the context of a particular discipline. As a result, students struggle to recall the steps they need to follow and consequently also to apply their newly gained knowledge to project work. Compounding this, high-end fashion-specific design packages, such as Lectra, are not suitable for use by individuals due to its expensive nature. The use of these packages is similarly limited in its use via departmental computer laboratories due to licencing restrictions. The licencing of mid-range design packages such as the Adobe Creative Suite might be more affordable, but at an institutional level it is still regarded as expensive and also only installed in departmental computer laboratories, again limiting students access. Even where a student owns a personal computer, purchasing the Adobe Creative Suite (at discount) may not be viable. However, despite it being intended for other design disciplines resulting in large parts of the program becoming redundant for Fashion use, Adobe Photoshop still remains the best possible, most affordable and preferred alternative package with the capacity for long-term use. The challenge arises where the lecturer is required to teach students against the backdrop of the problems mentioned above. Curricula rarely keep up with industry requirements and the onus falls on the lecturer to employ methods and tools to adapt and change within the confines of the curriculum structure itself. Software instruction should ideally take place in a manner that will aid the retention of the students user knowledge and be integrated with their project work. Resultantly, an innovative approach to teaching had to be developed and tested. v Observing, identifying and aiding the resolution of students learning problems place the lecturer within a participatory anthropological, natural environment. As such the research study was qualitative in nature. Appropriately, this study did not propose to merely better the current (inadequate) situation observed in the classroom. Instead, it created an entirely new learning environment aimed at addressing the students pre-determined and quantifiable needs through the student-centred teaching method of Concurrent Cycle Instruction (CCI). The chosen methodology: Design Research (DR), provided the framework against which the new CCI method could be tested and data relating to its efficacy could be gathered. The findings of the research study are based on an analysis of the data that was mined as part of the small-scale design experiment.

In fashion design, the designer strives for the development of ideas in view of significant visual goals. The process of specifying and developing ideas is a highly visual process. Based on what has been ‘seen’ as for example in a reference material or in explorations, designers define possible tracks to follow, decide which ideas to deepen or which ones to reject. Their activities can thus be described as a process of seeing. There is nothing novel about the importance of seeing as an act in the design process; on the contrary, seeing, is usually an intuitive act that any designer explicates throughout the process of shaping his/her vision. However, the systematisation of seeing in the design process in order to advance ways of working in the field of fashion design is still very much an area that is open for further research. In this thesis, possible ways of seeing are explored through experiments in different stages of the design process. Based on an image serving as a point of departure, seen elements were derived and put in relation to a body in a two-dimensional photographic sketching stage, in accordance with different ideas of dress. Selected ideas were then further elaborated and explored in terms of their design possibilities. The results of the experiments are propositions of design ideas that have been ‘seen’ in a single sketch or a series of sketches. The contribution of this licentiate thesis are: 1) A thorough mapping of two design stages (point of departure and two-dimensional sketching stage), and how they provide a deeper understanding of the design process, leading to 2) an improved sensibility with regard to design possibilities, their value and developments, and finally 3) the establishing of a methodology with which to discern the composition of a visual language/vision in fashion design based on ‘seeing’. The act of seeing is presented as the fundamental tool of designing for shaping a vision. By delving into the systematisation of the notion of seeing in a fashion design process, a methodology of seeing is introduced, which aims to enhance the possible ways of visualisation when designing.

O mercado global do vestuário, paulatinamente, se organiza no sentido de separar, geograficamente, a produção do consumo, nesse sentido marcas mundialmente reconhecidas e grandes empresas varejistas se expandiram através dos benefícios da economia em escala. Isso faz com que várias micro e pequenas empresas do setor tenham que repensar suas identidades de marca. Esta pesquisa mostra-se como uma tentativa de entender o papel do design na construção de marca, assim como caracterizar a percepção de microempresários do setor de moda de Porto Alegre, a respeito do tema. Procura-se contribuir com o desenvolvimento de micromarcas, as quais atuam em um território específico e, na maioria das vezes, não são conhecidas para além da região em que operam. A fim de se chegar a um resultado satisfatório, três objetivos específicos são traçados: mostrar a lógica de funcionamento da cadeia global do vestuário; compreender a participação do design na construção de marca; e por fim encontrar maneiras de verificar a percepção de microempresários sobre o papel do design na construção de marca, através de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados apontam para a consciência, entre os entrevistados, da importância do design na construção de marca, entretanto, a maneira como cada um percebe essa participação varia, sendo que alguns acreditam no design enquanto item fundamental na concepção de coleções e outros o concebem como um meio de expressar um estilo de vida. / The global apparel market has continuously been organized in a way as to separate production and consumption, in that sense, world renowned brands and big retailers have expanded through economies of scale. Micro and small enterprises in the area have had to rethink their own brand identities. This research is an attempt to understand the role of design in brand building, as well as what local Porto Alegre based micro-entrepreneurs in the fashion business think about it. The purpose is to contribute towards the development of micro brands that only reach a certain geographical area and are often unknown beyond their scope of activity. In order to achieve a meaningful outcome, we have drawn three specific objectives: first, showing how the world apparel chain works, then understanding the part design plays in brand building, and finally inquiring on micro-entrepreneurs’ perception on the role of design in brand building, through semi-structured interviews. The outcome shows interviewees are aware of the importance of design in brand construction. However, the way each of them conceives of its part varies, while some believe design to be a crucial item in the creation of collections, others see it as a means to express lifestyle.

With an interest within colour and print this work developed into questioning their lack of function regarding creating or contributing to from. It investigates how to generate form and surface on a body based on houndstooth pattern. The hypothesis is to find methods that increases a prints expressional possibilities and to find a way to create shape from the prints qualities. It concerns the subject how print, colour and materials relate and affect each other depending on for example saturation, quality and scale. Based on the construction of a woven houndstooth a specific method to generate form have been developed, here called cut-and-weave. The result is performed in 7 outfits where this method is applied in various ways. Together they illustrate, not only that a print can give form by manipulating its construction, but also that a print can be enhanced and reinforced by executing it in different ways.

Since late eighteenth century smocking has been a part of different fields of fashion. From agricultural clothing and swimsuits, and also inspiring architecture. The approach of smocking has always been to tighten the fabric against the body. This work will challenging this by exploring the possibility to build form with smocking on the body, placing it in the context of personas on a winter vacation. By extracting elements of the smocking and sketching directly in the knitting machine using different techniques and yarn with contrasting characteristics, the ambition has been to translate aesthetic aspects of smocking via volume, pattern, material and colour into knitted material, targeting a sporty silhouette and expression. The result show an alternative way to bout fabricate and view the smocking. By letting the technique build form, placing it in a sports context suggest that smocking no longer is a technique solely for romantic dresses.

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate and challenge the predetermined silhouettes of street wear; silhouettes and identity that has been ”approved” by the structures of society. The study aims to open up for discussion, and explore the area in which might be considered to be ”wrongdoings”, in order to push the boundaries that we have set on the different components a garment can be built up with. The study was conducted with the method of deconstruction, to be able to fully understand the archetypes of garments and accessories within the chosen field. The focus laid on the details, and how one could abstract these and rework them into something else; another silhouette and purpose. The result shows garments that has pushed their on limitations in silhouettes and identity; opened up for other kinds of context, and embraces the possibilities of their details when it comes to shape.

Fashion is a social construct and its very essence is to express identity and status. Depending on context we dress differently and we are constantly adapting in order to meet social expectations of dress. This work explores the relationship between archetypical garments and status. The main objective of this exploration is to challenge hierarchies in fashion by clashing different stereotypes by the means of construction. This implies to question social structures currently present in fashion. Due to these structures, we conform to stereotypical ideas of how to dress, which restricts us. What could be defined as missing within fashion today is the clash between garments on opposite sides of the hierarchy in fashion. While meetings within the same garment group has been explored before by numerous designers, combining archetypes from opposite sides of the hierarchy is yet relatively unexplored. If one was to transcend the boundaries and jump freely between garment groups, there is a possibility to select fragments from different categories in a garment to work with. This could then create more free ways of expressing oneself through dress. What is presented in this work is an approach aiming to challenge hierarchies in fashion. The examples can be read as archetypical and stereotypical hybrids with the intention to question how we dress in certain contexts. Resulting in new meetings of materials and expressions relating to dress codes.

Great changes characterized the mid- to late nineteenth century in the field of dye chemistry, including many innovations in the production of colours across the spectrum, especially the development of synthetic dyes from coal-tar aniline. From 1840 to 1875, textile manufacturers offered a wide variety of colourful dress textiles to female fashion consumers in both Great Britain and the United States. Middle-class women were urged to educate themselves about dyeing, science, and colour, while cultivating appropriate, moderate attention to fashion in dress. This thesis examines the mid-nineteenth century relationship of fashion, dye chemistry, and everyday science, exploring consumers’ responses to these phenomena of modernity. Paying special attention to the appreciation of chemistry and colour theory during the period, this project considers how the development of new dyes affected middle-class uses and discussions of colours in women’s dress.