In this issue, the work of a diverse group of authors as well as topics are explored. They are connected by what Alice Payne (Citation2021) calls the fashion system, bringing into focus the overlapping and networked practices of multiple actors and how they work together. Payne (Citation2021) suggests in her book Designing Fashion’s Future: Present Practice and Tactics for Sustainable Change that only by understanding the nature of the fashion system and how it has evolved do we begin to identify potential sites of change. She positions fashion systems within systems thinking to explore its interactions, its flows and feedback loops. Fashion including both industry and cultural practice converges upon the environmental and social challenges of the 21st century, here illustrated by topics as inclusion of non-standard body types, training the novice to assess fit, examining the relationship of a style tribe to their Punk symbols and silhouettes, exploring the legacy of the Silk Road, and the relationship of the city to fashion retail. Making sense of these connections and convergences can help to illuminate and shape future fashion practice.
Nicholas Paganelli in “Bespoke Solutions for Eliminating Ableist Bias in the Apparel Industry” seeks new solutions for greater inclusion of non-standard body types in the apparel industry using 3 D body scanning, virtual design tools, and computerized 3 D knitting. These tools are assessed through case studies from the disabled community for their ability to facilitate mass production of inclusive apparel for persons with disabilities. Changes in how the apparel industry approaches and implements new digital tools are described and strongly encouraged. While capabilities are promising, each technology is hindered by the industry’s focus on traditional modes of clothing design, development, and production.
In “Expert versus Novice Assessment of Clothing Fit; an Exploratory Study Using Eye Tracking Technology” Hwa Kyung Song, Youngsook Kim, and Susan P. Ashdown assess the fit of a shirt using goggle type eye-trackers and a questionnaire. The objective was to use the results for what is needed in training for fit analysis. In the comparison, the expert group viewed the areas of interest longer than the novice group and evidence showed that the novices did not seem to consider details of fit. While experts distributed their gaze viewing waist, hem, side seam line, dart, and armhole, novices generally concentrated their time assessing only one area: the front of the shirts. The study identified areas of interest and fit criteria that differed between the expert and novice groups to provide results to inform training needs for novices in fit analysis.
Monica Sklar, Sharon Autry and Lauren Klas write in “Fashion Cycles of Punks and the Mainstream: A U.S. Based Study of Symbols and Silhouettes” that as punks grow older they maintain feelings of attachment to subcultural symbols, such as band logos or iconic in-scene pictorial references. Yet they are more comfortable relinquishing other characteristics of their subcultural garments. Findings indicate that over time as the underground punk styles move into mass usage the subcultural silhouettes follow the bell curve fashion cycles with little objection from original punk wearers. This qualitative research highlights the complications of insular cultures who influence the mainstream and addresses concepts of aesthetics, merchandising, authenticity, and appropriation using punk style as an example.
Lee Barron examines the role of culture as stimulus for design in “The Creative Influence of History in Fashion Practice: The Legacy of the Silk Road and Chinese-Inspired Culture-Led Design.” Barron critically considers nostalgic conceptions of the Silk Road history and its status as an “imaginative community” for both culture-led fashion product design and contemporary cultural and social attitudes. He demonstrates that the Silk Road represents a significant example of the transformation of cultural features into distinctive design elements that express and preserve historical Chinese culture as well as showing how culture can provide materials for new design ideas and practice. He finds that the legacy of China’s Silk Road, dating back 4000 years, continues to provide inspiration for Chinese and Chinese-inspired fashion designers through imagery, textiles, and materials.
Anne Peirson-Smith and Jennifer Craik explore the relationship between fashion retail and the city in “Reaching for the Sun, Moon and Stars: Experiencing Fashion Retail in the Neighborhood in Hong Kong.” The authors state that the relationship between fashion and the city is founded on symbiotic assumptions representing and symbolizing modernity in constructing and exploring urban identity. Manifestations of this situation are apparent in the way that fashion plays out in an urban landscape such as Hong Kong. Interpretive interviews with Hong Kong retailers are analyzed to examine how constructed spaces are imagined and experienced when facilitating experiential value. Fashion and architectural spaces both create and invite negotiation of boundaries between public and private spaces, all the while delineating identities in their broader societal locations. This dynamic process operates on both micro and macro levels.
Book Review
Marilyn DeLong reviews Alice Payne’s recent book Designing Fashion’s Future, Present Practice and Tactics for Sustainable Change as a must read for this time of change. Payne believes that fashion must be navigated, disrupted, and modified within the larger world system to evolve into a more sustainable model.
College of Design, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
References
- Payne. Alice 2021. Designing Fashion’s Future: Present Practice and Tactics for Sustainable Change. New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.