Historic textile and clothing collections based in academic settings have a particularly unique characteristic when compared to museum collections, in that they welcome hands-on work by students and faculty. The academic collection provides a springboard toward new knowledge, looking at the past in order to understand the future. Our aim is to share how we value our collection, not as a static repository but as a fluid and active space of discovery. The University of Delaware Fashion and Apparel Studies Historic Costume and Textiles Collection (HCTC) as a repository of clothing and accessories from the fourteenth century to present day, is a treasure trove of opportunity for the practice of artifact-based dress history by the active engagement of collection, conservation, documentation, exhibition, and interpretation. The researchers conducted a contextual review of creative artifacts and research projects initiating within the HCTC. The case vignettes outlined connect HCTC artifacts through research and classroom projects. The researchers adopted the format of case vignettes from the health sciences, applying the format to teaching and research scenarios. The “patient” within these cases is the artifact of inquiry. The artifacts are the result of practice, yet, also inspire further iteration. Clothing and appearance (i.e. dress) are forms of nonverbal communication. Varying social, national, ethnic and gender groups project their identities through their dress. Clothes are made from textiles, and many of the important textile traditions are made to be displayed on the body. When examined from both historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as through analysis of cultural differences, clothing and appearance contribute to our understanding of the world. How this might be taught and/or applied to creative research is the focus of this article.

As the field of circular textile design emerges, researchers are questioning what skills designers will need to enable the new systems, processes and products to successfully loop back in to subsequent lifecycles. Circular textile design differs from traditional textile design because it asks the designer of the textile to not only create a new material, but to prioritise the use and end-of-life of the product at the outset. This requires the designer to not only understand more about the processes of production, use and disposal, but much more about the people in these new systems too. In this article, the author draws upon first-hand experience of evolving from the making of circular textiles, to supporting others to make circular textiles. Reflecting on the leadership role of being the Director of a University research Centre (UrC), the article goes in search of a model to generate and share the insights derived from developing from a textile design researcher to a leader. The methods involved a form of triangulation using the recognised attributes for success of a high-performing research unit, along with leadership signposts created by an experienced corporate manager, with reflections by the author on the experiences at the UrC across a 5-year period. Working with input from Baron, the author extended her research practice to include an autoethnographic study, from which questions and key insights are extracted. These insights were then used to redesign the HEFCE model. The transferrable Whole Circles model presented at the end of the article proposes that textile designers seek to ensure they have a good understanding of themselves as people, so that their leadership style is empathic and grounded. It also proposes a 3-dimensional form which supports the growth of other researchers to lead in their own expertise areas.

This paper presents a collaborative research initiative involving a design approach to Almalaguês, a hand-weaving technique from Coimbra, Portugal, possibly dating back to the eleventh century. According to research findings, Almalaguês textile faces an uncertain future. The technique remains largely unacknowledged despite its historical and cultural significance, and creative potential—a situation that this initiative aims to address. The associated research culminates in Cortebel® 50, a Brand Archaeology project that pays homage to the industrial legacy of an iconic Portuguese footwear manufacturer, Cortebel®, in its 50th year of operation. The objective is to understand locally specific brands and their products in relation to their contextual frame of reference, enabling the discovery of their essence and how they represent local traditions, cultures, and people. The recovered knowledge serves as a generative resource for further applicability in contemporary contexts. In this case, the outcomes include the rediscovery of an ancient culture of weaving in Almalaguês, and its contextual hybridization in a new area of application—footwear. The creative approach involves exercising tenets of Brand Archaeology and Designrascar methods, in an industrial setting beset with infrastructural and resource-based constraints. The methods endorse a hands-on approach to design, and acknowledge both circumstantial constraints and cultural significance as factors that inspire imaginativeness beyond understood thresholds. Within this project, strategic partnerships have been formed with local associations, governmental bodies, industries, and academic institutions, to form a network that can help preserve and sustain the production of Almalaguês fabrics.

Designs and motifs in traditional Chamba embroideries have deep rooted cultural significance. They were symbolic of the beliefs of the community who created embroidered masterpieces using the simplest of raw materials and stitches. The designs and motifs used were very specific to embroideries and characterized by the selective treatment given to them. In order to sustain this craft the author considered it crucial to document the original designs and motifs along with other aspects of the craft. The themes represented in embroidered coverlets of Chamba are well known and have been interpreted by many scholars. However, the varied motifs used in the embroideries need to be documented, which was the focus of this paper. In an exploratory field survey, it was observed that current embroiderers were not well versed in drawing and did not have access to the traditional themes, designs and motifs. Therefore, a “design catalogue” was developed for capacity building of artisans and for use as reference material to create awareness with respect to traditional themes, designs and motifs. This paper presents the research undertaken in the production of the “design catalogue”, which included processing of 137 photographs of museum pieces, development and the classification of 768 sketched motifs. The observation of two different styles of motif (folk and miniature style) is noted, the development of the catalogue is described alongside subsequent intervention work with artisans, product development work and exhibition towards sustenance of the traditional craft of Chamba embroidery.

Mola panels, made of layers of cloth, are a well-known souvenir and collectible internationally. A pair of rectangular mola panels form the back and front of a mola blouse and are part of the dress of an indigenous American Indian people, the Kuna (Guna), who live in Panama and Colombia. While the mola may be considered a form of wearable art, it has become a source of inspiration for contemporary Western textile artworks. The techniques used by Kuna women to sew mola panels – surface appliqué, reverse appliqué and embroidery – have been imitated, adapted, and transformed by textile artists, often as an evolving practice. The global influence of the mola is demonstrated in case studies of the work of six textile artists: Tsuyako Miyazaki (Japan), Fumiko Nakayama (Japan), John Corbett (Australia), Charlotte Patera (US), Christel Walter (Germany) and Herta Puls (UK). The works reviewed, stitched from the 1970s until recent times, are considered in terms of visual organization, color palette, materials, design motif, scale, sewing techniques, intent (meaning to the maker) and display qualities. The individual strategies of artists in responding to sources of inspiration originating from non-western cultures are considered along a continuum from imitation, through adaptation, to transformation.

Product design, and especially relevant for this study in textile design, is concerned with designing not only products but also the materials that form the products. Here, designers should relate their materials and products to an existing context and environment that correspond to future users’ created meanings and experiences. Therefore, for design education, it is essential to discuss the diversity of material attributes that have to be considered as well as the creative process of actually designing materials in order to obtain the desired properties, characteristics and meanings. As educators of future designers we are concerned with teaching students, how to develop and use materials for “future design” in a way that embraces multiple properties, including aesthetic, technical, functional and sustainable concerns. In this paper we are specifically concerned with associative meanings and how they affect the design of new materials and how links between associations and physical properties of materials can be created. To elaborate on this two educational exercises are introduced. In the first exercise students, in groups, were asked to order physical materials by means of material attributes ranging from being highly physical to being highly experiential. The educational aims of the exercise were to train students in communicating the often-tacit meanings of materials and to provide a tool to visualize and evaluate subjective and objective attributes equally. In the second exercise students were asked to translate and interpret abstract key phrases into physical textile materials or compositions. The aim was primarily to encourage students to reflect on how personal associations can be embodied in textile materials. The discussion and results of the exercises stressed how meanings of attributes need to be mediated, socially as well as individually and that different modes of learning are required to obtain a better comprehension of the diversity of material attributes.

Textile research/industry partnerships have recently gained momentum in New Zealand. This paper makes a preliminary account by focusing on the benefits of the collaboration to Massey University Master of Design postgraduates, companies, and the academics. The students work on a significant problem faced by a company to rejuvenate business or to produce solutions for a particular or a set of problems. The company gains access to new university research and discoveries and faculty members complement their own academic research by securing funds for graduate students. During a one-year period, the students receive a government-funded scholarship and industry mentoring. The aim is to steer success across the textile value chain from economic and environmental perspectives while balancing academic requirements. Typically, the industry-centered design is developed using iterative processes with a strong emphasis on the role of technology, often requiring the acquirement of new software skills to design with industry equipment. The model establishes best practice to share resources and experiences within the thrust of daily industrial life and the demands of a Master of Design degree. This paper aims to gage the benefits of, and challenges in a range of wool-centered collaborative projects from yarn development to sustainable dye to bedding product development to the revitalization of a weaving mill innovative waste to blue sky solutions for a tannery. The research of novel ideas and process innovation leads to enhanced job placement opportunity and new exports.

The purpose of this research was to determine what design characteristics influence crafters to consume raw materials. Due to the high number of crafters who utilize yarns, this research specifically investigated yarn design characteristics, which influence crafters to consume raw materials, either artisan brand yarns or commercial yarns. The yarn design characteristics corresponded to Donald Norman's (2004) three theoretical categories called levels of design. The levels of design were: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. An online survey was developed to determine what specific levels of design influenced crafters to consume either artisan brand yarns or commercial yarns for a favorite project. A total of 657 useable responses were gathered: 24% of the respondents utilized artisan brand yarns and 66% used commercial yarns. The results suggested that among crafters it is common to choose artisan brand yarns based on characteristics which relate to the behavioral and the reflective level of design. The behavioral characteristics related to functional qualities of yarn such as, weight or feel. These characteristics were related to intangible, emotional aspects such as a desire to support local businesses or the ethical treatment of fiber animals. By demonstrating the importance of reflective yarn design characteristics, this research suggests that crafters who consume artisan yarns value intangible/emotional aspects of yarn.

(2014). Craft of Use. Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 215-219.