Research and Design for Fashion

Richard Sorger, Simon Seivewright

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781350131019
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Fashion Design

Fashion demands a steady flow of creative ideas. Research and Design for Fashion will guide you through the research techniques that could spark your next original collection. With practical advice on designing effective moodboards, recycling existing garments and getting to know your customer, this new edition will help you master the research process and apply it to your own designs. There's also a wealth of advice through interviews with exceptional designers, including Christopher Raeburn, ThreeASFOUR and Magdaléna Mikulicáková, as well as updated imagery of the research and design work behind both single garments and entire collections. This fourth edition also explores how cultural events, historical anniversaries and sport influences can be the starting point for a collection. There's also more on creative ways of recording your findings and designing for menswear, childrenswear and gender-neutral clothing.

1

Research – what and why?

Research is about creative investigation, and it is about recording information for use now or in the future. But what exactly is research? Designers are constantly looking for new ideas, as fashion by its very nature is always changing and reinventing itself. But where does it all start?

In this first chapter, we aim to demystify what research is, as well as to explore the process of creative investigation a little further. We will also look at why you should research in the first place and what you need to consider as a designer before you begin work on any project or collection. Later in the chapter, we will explore what the purpose of research is and what precisely it should contain in terms of information. The chapter also discusses what ‘a brief’ is; the different types of briefs that exist, and what it is that the designer is being asked to do.

Above all, the process of research should be fun, exciting, informative, and (most importantly) useful. This chapter will help you discover how you can make it all of these things!

Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of France, Daughter of Maria Theresia. Canvas by Elisabeth-Louise Vigee-Le Brun circa 1778 showing the elaborate draping and detailing of the eighteenth century.

What is research?

Fashion by its very definition is about current popular custom or style; fashion designers express the zeitgeist, or spirit of the times, in their work. Fashion is constantly changing, and designers are expected to reinvent the wheel every season. Because of this constant pressure for the new, designers have to dig ever deeper and search ever further for new inspiration and ways of interpreting this into their collections. Fashion designers are obsessive collectors, always on the hunt for new and exciting things to inspire them. So, the need to gather and source material for use in the creative process is essential for feeding the imagination.

Three types of research

Research is about investigation – learning about something new or learning about something from the past. It can often be likened to the beginning of a journey of exploration. It is about reading, visiting, or viewing and recording this information.

There are three types of research. The first type is the visual inspiration for the collection, and this will often help to set the theme, mood or concept that is essential in developing an identity for your creative work. The second is gathering and sourcing the tangible and practical materials for your collection – for example, fabric, trims and buttons. The third type of research relates to the consumer and market that you are creating the design work for. If you are working to a brief (see here), it may already state the market, but it is essential that you, as a designer, explore and identify who you are designing for and understand their lifestyle and interests. You also need to research the broader market and competitors within it.

Undertaking all three aspects of research will give you a much more solid foundation upon which to build your design ideas. Your research should always be broad-ranging and in-depth, enabling you to innovate, rather than to simply imitate, in the collection that you create from it.

Research could be likened to a diary or journal, a snapshot of who you are, what you are interested in, and what is happening in the world at a specific time. Trends, along with social and political issues, could be documented as part of your research – as all these things have an impact on the research and creative design process. The information you compile in your research ‘diary’ is likely to be useful both now and in the future.

1.1 & 1.2 Research exploring twentieth century sculpture. © Seonghee Ha

Primary and secondary sources of research

The three types of research can then be further broken down into primary and secondary sources. Primary sources of research are the most important and individual as it is research that you, the designer, have seen, visited or created in person. This research can be recorded by using drawing or photography and it offers the designer the opportunity to closely examine a source of inspiration, whether by seeing a painting in real life or by looking at a garment up close to understand its construction. You might also gather information through surveys; asking your potential clients for their thoughts and feedback (see ‘Customer discovery’). Secondary sources of research are when the designer gathers information from pre-collated sources such as books, magazines or the internet. It is always preferable, when possible, to gather primary sources of research as it has the potential to be research that no one else has. It also has the potential to enable a deeper understanding of your subject through proximity, but primary research is not always possible and so this is when secondary research becomes important. Secondary research can also give greater depth to primary sources of research by adding to research gathered in person.

1.3 Research moodboard: Examples of primary research of a garment from a sketchbook. © Seonghee Ha

What is the purpose of research?

You now know what research is, but why do you need it? How does it help you as a designer?

Research is there, above all, to inspire you as a creative individual. It is a way of stimulating the mind and opening up new directions in design. By gathering different references and exploring many avenues of interest, you can begin to explore a variety of creative possibilities before you channel and focus your imagination toward a concept, theme, or direction for a collection.

Research will help you learn about a subject. You might discover information previously unknown to you, or perhaps you could explore new skills or technologies.

Research is an opportunity to inquire into your own interests and expand your awareness and knowledge of the world around you. As a result, research is very much a personal and individual task, and although a team of people can gather it, one person generally has the creative vision and takes the lead.

Research is a way of showing the world how you see it and how you think. And this is extremely important in differentiating you from everyone else in the industry. Think of it as a personal diary of a moment in your creative lifetime and a document to show whoever is interested what has inspired you and had an effect on your life.

The final point to remember is that research must above all else be inspiring and useful.

What should research contain?

As you have already discovered, research is about the investigation and recording of information. You can break down this information usefully into a series of categories that will help inspire you and provide the different components of a collection’s direction.

Shapes and structures

By its very definition, ‘shape’ is an area or form with a definite outline and a visible appearance and structure. It is also the way in which something is constructed or supported in a framework. Shapes are a vital element of research and ultimately of design too, as they provide you with potential ideas to translate onto the body and into garments. Without shape, there would be no silhouettes in fashion design (see here–here). To support shape, you also need to consider structure and how something is constructed or created. The potential to understand how a framework or parts can support shape is vital, and again this knowledge can be translated into fashion design. Consider the role of a domed roof of a cathedral, contemporary glasshouse, or the crinoline frame of a nineteenth-century dress, for example.

Crinoline

Crinoline i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Glossary
• Online resources
• Bibliography
• Student resources
• Index
• Acknowledgements
• eCopyright