From Individuation to Autonomy: Enabling Fashion Design Students to See a Bigger Picture

Abstract

Many UK fashion courses perpetuate the romantic notion of the individuated designer producing unique objects of wonder (Wood in Designers visionaries and other stories: a collection of sustainable design essays. Routledge, London, 2007; Clark in The Journal of Fashion Theory 12(4):427–446, 2008), encouraging and continuing a culture of production unfettered by the concerns of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Research shows, however, that there is a need for approaches within Design Education that promote and reward forms of creativity that are adaptive as well as innovative (Manzini in Designers visionaries and other stories: a collection of sustainable design essays. Routledge, London, 2007), and that this is an essential characteristic if curricula are to be developed for ESD. This paper reports on a Fashion Design undergraduate project that has been developed in light of institutional strategies for ESD and employability and for staff development in ESD. The project contributes to a wider, whole-institution approach taken by Manchester Metropolitan University as it takes part in the National Union of Students (NUS) Responsible Futures project. The paper explores the merits of implementing a cross-disciplinary approach that focuses on local environmental issues whilst remaining sensitive to globalisation. It analyses the resulting shifts in attitude of students towards sustainable design and adaptive creative practices. Finally, it discusses the impact that this approach might have on future curriculum design for Fashion Education.