Fashion Design Commons^™

Exploring Homogeneity In Today's Cultural Expression, Roderick Hunt

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

This article examines the increasing cultural homogeneity driven by the internet's global reach and accessibility. Roderick Hunt—an educator, brand expert, and fashion designer—integrates writing into his creative practice and brand ethos. Through his label, Uniform Journal, he merges ideas and products, emphasizing both form and function. In a Q&A discussion, Hunt explores how the internet has influenced contemporary cultural practices and challenges the notion of originality in an era of digital interconnectedness.

The J In Danger, Zachary Delamater

Theses and Dissertations

“The J in Danger” merges autobiographic and formal concerns in sculpture and installation to describe the existential hazards contemporary life poses to Queer and Disabled individuals. The paper utilizes silent letters as thematic device to connect notions of precarity to a broader sense of contemporary “doomerism.”

From Field To Fashion: A Journey In Sustainable Design And Regional Understanding, Lily Turner

Individually Designed Interdepartmental Major Honors Project

As the fashion industry became globalized over the past century, it has become a major environment polluter and exposed laborers to hazardous conditions. This honors project considers sustainability in the textile industry at large and at the regional scale of the Upper Midwest. Its scholarly component offers an overview of the current textile production, details how the industry may become sustainable, and suggests practices of environmentally-conscious and ethical design. The creative component is a soil-to-soil seasonless capsule collection titled From Field View that incorporates biomimicry and interrogates the concept of place by referencing the Midwest’s flora, wool, and linen fibers.

Uni_Form Space: Exploring Environment Through Fashion+Architecture, Alanzo Price

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Henry Van de Velde advocated for the German concept, ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ which translates to ‘total work of art’. This concept became popular during the Art Nouveau Movement around the 1890s when architects began utilizing their knowledge of scale to design fashion and other everyday objects like silverware. Though this concept has produced intriguing designs, architects still shy away from design processes that seem ornamental assuming that they will not produce work that is ‘architectural’. The goal of this project is to create an architectural environment by curating designed elements that use a recognizable design language present in fashion and architecture. The …

African American Fashion Legacies, Yasmeen Orozco

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This was an exploration of how African American Designers, former and current have contributed to fashion legacies. Key points that will be presented will be – brief biographies of seven African American designers, that covers their upbringing, education, and their fashion legacies. The seven fashion designers that will be discussed include - Patrick Kelly, Willie Smith, Anna Lowe, Stephine Burrows, Laquan Smith, Dapper Dan, and Zelda Wynn Valdes.

The study further features fashion trends that originated from the African American community. Notably, African Americans have been a pioneering force with creative styles that have been ignored and rebutted. Finally, the …

Refashioning Style From The Outside-In: A Pakistani Diasporic Response, Sidra Sohail Khawaja

Theses and Dissertations

Pakistan’s traditionalists and modernists hold opposing political, religious, social and nationalist views creating a constant tension within the culture. This tension creates a fashion industry with two extremes, one side reflecting traditional influences and the other reflecting western trends. I address the tension by analysing the craft and context of traditional Pakistani men’s clothing and incorporating traditional construction techniques into garments that reflect aspects of both points of view. In a series of five looks, I extract from influences like Persian, North Indian, Afghani, Colonial and Neo-Colonial, to generate hybridized garments that offer a new perspective, blending traditional elements with …

Cultural Formation Of Place: Making Yourself At Home, Olivia Arratia

Art Theses and Dissertations

The environment you grow up in can become a pivotal part of your existence. The sights, smells, people, and places you experience every day can transform the way you see the world. Growing up in a Mexican-American household has brought its own set of experiences that have made me the artist I am today. I am one of many contemporary artists building on the foundations of their heritage and the Chicano movement. I am also a Mexican-American artist expanding the identity and extending the legacy in the 21st century. This paper will investigate how Mexican-American heritage has influenced my artistic …

Representing The Ali'i And Monarchy: Dress, Diplomacy, And Featherwork In Hawai'i, Tess Anderson

Scripps Senior Theses

When Native Hawaiians and haole (foreigners) first met, both participants belonged to fashion systems unknown to the other, composed of different materials, styles, tastes, standards, and construction techniques. As the outside world was introduced to the cultural heritage of Hawaiian hulu manu (featherwork), kūkaulani (chiefly fashion), and European skewed conceptions of Hawaiian indigeneity; the ali‘i (chiefs) and kama‘āina (commoners) received and adapted to incoming materials, technologies, and information. When these encounters transitioned into “prolonged contact” and settlement, dress and adornment proliferated in new ways. Analyzing the case studies of historic pā‘ū, holokū, ‘ahu'ula, and military uniforms shows the significance of …

Own Your Politics: The Entanglement Of Resistance And The Luxury Fashion Industry, Brent A. Van Horne

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis takes as its subject the increasing instrumentalization of social and political content by the fashion industry in recent years. Such content raises questions about the relationship between notions of political resistance and market capitalism. Marxist theorists such as Frederic Jameson and David Harvey would perhaps view this phenomenon as a confirmation of the ways in which late capitalism incapacitates forms of political descent by absorbing it within its machinations. Within this line of thinking, the way in which various designers use the fashion runway as a forum for protest would suggest late capitalism’s seemingly boundless ability to absorb …

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 31:2—Fall 2019, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Newsletters

Letter from the President

TSA News:
Announcing the 2019 Fellows of the Textile Society of America
New Professionals Convening: Envisioning Textiles Futures
Observations of New Professionals Convening: Envisioning Textiles Futures
Board Workshop with artEquity
Announcing Research Travel Grant Recipients
Textiles Close Up: Textiles Old and New in Detroit’s Cultural Center
Cooper Hewitt’s Object of the Day Blog Hosts TSA Members for NYC Textile Month

In Memoriam: Marion Coleman

In Memoriam: Archie Brennan

TSA Symposium News
17th Biennial Symposium: Hidden Stories/Human Lives
16th Biennial Symposium Workshop Review: Rediscovering the Potential of WARP(S)

International Exhibitions

Featured Article
A Land of Light and …

Dance Of Exile: The Sakharoffs’ Visual Performances In Montevideo (1935–1948), Pablo Munoz Ponzo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores the life-work chronology of the dancers and choreographers Clotilde von Derp (whose surname then was Sakharoff) and Alexander Sakharoff, who were exiled in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 1941 and 1948. During their stay in the Rio de la Plata region, the Sakharoffs stirred up the art scene by performing extremely detailed dances with great attention to costume design. This thesis begins with a review of the reception of the dancers’ performances by the artistic and cultural circles in Montevideo, arguing that the Sakharoffs’ “queer” trajectory resonated with the Uruguayan artistic community, influencing the creation …

Getting Dressed And Being Dressed: A Constructed Autobiography Of Identity, Jana Jarosz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This written and visual capstone project examines how feminist theories surrounding the construction of a gendered subject are related and situational to the narrative of a lived body experience within a layered context of clothing. It opens up a discussion concerning the negotiated space between an individually-empowered, subject-in-process and the boundaries of social expectations outlining gender and cultural identities. The thesis introduces the concept of using an automediality framework to connect the material culture of clothing to still and motion imagery with text as a way to encapsulate and illustrate the fluid nature of becoming. It concludes by suggesting that …

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 31:1—Spring 2019, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Newsletters

Letter from the President

TSA News:
Textiles Close Up: Andean Meets Anni in Chicago
R. L. Shep Ethnic Textile Book Award 2018 Nominees
Special Issue of JTDRP [Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice] Published
TSA Seeking a Newsletter Editor
International Report

In Memoriam: Sandra Alfoldy

TSA Symposium News
TSA Symposium 2020: Call for Submissions
Report from Student and New Professional Awardees

Book Reviews
The Art and Science of Natural Dyes: Principles, Experiments, and Results
Call for Submissions: Textile Month

Featured Exhibitions
Anni Albers
TSA Members at Fiberart International 2019
Contemporary Muslim Fashions

Member News

Dress Up, Ye'ela B. Wilschanski

Theses and Dissertations

Dress Up (Performance, 40 minutes) is a dress that functions as a floor, blanket, tablecloth, book and walls. It tells a visual story about domestic care giving rituals, referencing different times and places.

My Clothing Is Me: Embracing Adhd In Traditional Qatari Apparel, Rabab Abdulla

Theses and Dissertations

Children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) are often secluded from society, as the condition is perceived to be a defect. These children constantly fidget, move, lose track of time, and forget to complete tasks, leading them to struggle within existing social environments. Additionally, in Qatar there is a need to educate society about ADHD. This research explores wearable solutions that alter behaviors through physical interactions and sensory engagements. In response to the challenges faced by ADHD, Qatari traditional attire has been customized to support children with time management, and communication between child, parent, and society. Additionally, these wearables …

The What If Collection, Aisha J. Daniels

Theses and Dissertations

The What If Collection is a visual narrative that confronts white supremacy, the social, economic, and political ideology used to subjugate black civilization via colonial rule and enslavement in history and via structural racism today. Many white people have been socialized into a racial illiteracy that fosters white supremacy. This racial illiteracy fails to realize and understand the destructive effects of Western dominance on the rest of the world, particularly on past and present Africa and her diaspora. In response, utilizing discursive design, the collection constructs a counter-story that depicts a shift in the power structure in which the white …

A Critical Exploration Of Costume Design Possibilities In Tolkien’S Legendarium, M. Grace Costello

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tolkien’s Legendarium has in many ways codified modern fantasy. Illustrations and film adaptations of it have had far-reaching consequences on popular culture, building an 80-year tradition of visual depictions of Tolkienesque fantasy. Particularly, Elven characters are usually depicted wearing costume inspired by Victorian notions of Western medieval costume. In this paper I seek to approach the design of original costume for the Ñoldor from a different perspective, free from the established traditions of other designers’ and illustrators’ work.

The preliminary research focuses on searching the source materials of the Silmarillion and select texts from the Histories of Middle Earth. I …

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 30:2 — Fall 2018, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Newsletters

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the President

TSA News
Welcome New TSA Board Members
Our Focus on Diversity: Vision Statement
R. L. Shep Ethnic Textile Book Award
Diedrick Brackens Honored with 2018 Brandford/Elliott Award

International Report
Featured Exhibitions
Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT)
Opportunity
The University of North Texas to Close Fibers Program by Spring 2019

TSA Symposium
The Social Fabric: Deep Local to Pan Global in pictures
TSA Members' Exhibition
Reports from Student & New Professional Awardees

A Long-Delayed Professional Conversation

Book Reviews
Art, Honor, and Ridicule: Fante Asafo Flags from Southern Ghana
Polychromatic Screen Printing …

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 30:1 — Spring 2018, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Newsletters

Letter from the Senior Editor

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the President

TSA News:
From the Nomination Committee
Slate of Candidates

TSA "Meet Up" at the Textile Museum, Washington, DC

R. L. Shep Ethnic Textile Book Award 2017 Nominees

Textile Society of America 30th Anniversary
A Personal Connection to TSA

Call for Submissions: Textile Month

RE: Gender Bend: Women In Wood, Men at the Loom

Coping with the Perils from Apparel

Book Reviews
Women Artisans of Morocco: Their Stories Their Lives
From Tapestry to Fiber Art: The Lausanne Biennials, 1962-1995
Inside the Royal Wardrobe: A Dress History of Queen …

Alternative Futures: The Creative Reconsideration Of Fashion Objects, Kathryn Roberts

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project is the beginning of what I intend to be a larger, evolving work that seeks to marry the theoretical with the practical when considering fashion objects that have “served their purpose”. The object at the project’s focal point: a worn out pair of blue jeans. My particular focus on jeans is based on the fact that they, alongside the t-shirt, are one of the most ubiquitous and commonly owned pieces of clothing for people all over the world. This wardrobe staple transcends age, race, and class, as it occupies an iconic status that has made them invulnerable to …

Of The Crickets, Kathryn Lien

Theses and Dissertations

Of the Crickets imagines the overlapping worlds of ethical ecological solutions to climate changed sustenance and the potential for collective excellence in female exclusive environments. Using garments, furniture, site-specific installation and directed performance, the project harnesses social and material sensitivity to mine solutions for idealized living.

Gender Beyond Binary, Sidra Zubairi

Theses and Dissertations

Transgender individuals challenge the binary definition of gender accepted in Pakistani society and as a result, Pakistan’s transgender community is highly marginalized. Pakistani society regards transgender individuals as “abnormal,” because their physical appearance and behavior fail to conform with conventional expectations. Based on contextual research and interviews conducted with transgender individuals in Pakistan, my thesis explores the obstacles transgender individuals face in the course of everyday survival. My research responds to the physical realities of being transgender in Pakistani society and analyzes cultural norms associated with gender, which trigger harassment. By designing transformable apparel for these individuals, informed by primary …

Embracing Bacterial Cellulose As A Catalyst For Sustainable Fashion, Luis Quijano

Senior Honors Theses

Bacterial cellulose is a leather-like material produced during the production of Kombucha as a pellicle of bacterial cellulose (SCOBY) using Kombucha SCOBY, water, sugar, and green tea. Through an examination of the bacteria that produces the cellulose pellicle of the interface of the media and the air, currently named Komagataeibacter xylinus, an investigation of the growing process of bacterial cellulose and its uses, an analysis of bacterial cellulose’s properties, and a discussion of its prospects, one can fully grasp bacterial cellulose’s potential in becoming a catalyst for sustainable fashion. By laying the groundwork for further research to be conducted …

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 29:2 — Fall 2017, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Newsletters

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Development Committee

Letter from the President

TSA's 2018 Symposium: The Social Fabric: Deep Local to Pan Global

Textile Society of America 30th Anniversary
The Textile Society of America: Its Foundation and Early Days
Textile Society of America: A Community Endeavor and a Personal Journey

TSA News:
TSA Honors Louise Mackie and Anne Wilson
R. L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award 2016 and Call for Nominations 2017
Textiles Close Up: Bloomington Blues
TSA Welcomes New Contributors
Woven Interiors: Late Antique Textiles in DC Collections

Camille Ann Brewer at the Textile Museum of America

In …

"Hippie Acid Freak Drag Queens:" Situating The Cockettes Within An Art Historical Context, Scott Dow

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis situates the Cockettes – a performance group rarely referenced in art historical discourse - within Bay Area performance art, second-wave feminist art, and the Gay Liberation Movement. Contextualizing the Cockettes within their contemporary art movements provides a new understanding of the group and emphasizes their significance to art history.

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 29:1 — Spring 2017, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Newsletters

Letter from the Editor

The Milton Sonday Archives

Letter from the President

Call for Submissions: 2018 Biennial Symposium: The Social Fabric: Deep Local to Pan Global, Vancouver, Canada, September 19–23, 2018

TSA News:
Textiles Close Up: Save the Date: Announcing Textiles Close Up 2017; Creative Reuse: Textile Waste and Contemporary Design
Fellows of the Textile Society of America
R. L. Shep Ethnic Textile Book Award 2016 Nominees
Symposium Workshop Reviews: Kalamkari: Contemporary Natural Dye Painting; Greeting the Ancestors of Blue: Some Reflections on Working with Ossabaw Island Indigo

Steps Towards Decolonizing Craft

Book Reviews:
Texts and Textiles: Affect, Synaesthesia and …

"La Dolce Vita" Today: Fashion And Media, Nicola Certo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita is a cinematic masterpiece that has inspired nationally and internationally generations of creative people and artists because of the extent of its themes and because of the mastery in the choice of its costumes. The actuality of the director’s criticism towards the decadent society of his years, the originality of his stylistic choices, and his sophisticated taste for beauty and fashion, brought him to influence media and contemporary fashion then and now. There are numerous examples of television commercials that Fellini directs and produces for purely commercial purposes. They are all critique of his society, …

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 28:2 — Fall 2016, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Newsletters

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the President

Letter from the Outgoing Executive Director

Volunteer Opportunities

Welcome New TSA Board Members

R. L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award

Joanne Arnett Honored with Brandford Elliott Award

Opinion Page – After Savannah: Some Questions

Letter from the TSA Executive Board

TSA's 15th Biennial Symposium: Reports & Reviews

Letter from the Symposium Planning Chairs

Reports from Student & New Professional Awardees
TSA: Trading in the Unexpected

Trade in Cotton & Manufactured Cloth from Europe, to Africa, to North America: SNPA Symposium Session Review

SNPA Report: Analyzing Objects, Building History

Jean L. Kares Honored …

Full Issue, The Anthology

The Anthology

This is the entirety of the 2013 Winthrop Anthology issue.

Full Issue, The Anthology

The Anthology

This is the entirety of the 2015 Winthrop Anthology issue.