“Implementing an Upcycled/Redesign Project in a Dress Theory Course”
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The first national meeting of textile and clothing professors took place in Madison, Wisconsin in June 1959. With a mission to advance excellence in education, scholarship and innovation, and their global applications, the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) is a professional and educational association of scholars, educators, and students in the textile, apparel, and merchandising disciplines in higher education.
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Abstract
In an undergraduate dress theory course, the expectations were that a new project could address existing gaps: (a) students were interested in sewing but the program was merchandising-based only, (b) previously, dress meanings and motivations were not highly emphasized in the course in spite of their importance to understanding dress practices (Lennon, Johnson, & Rudd, 2017), and (c) past students demonstrated little to no knowledge about sustainability practices for garment design, particularly the textile waste problem in the industry where materials can be reused to construct new products (e.g., Hawley, 2008). A new project was implemented for the course to address three questions: (1) Can merchandising students be successfully introduced to basic garment construction methods? (2) Can an upcycled/redesigned garment project increase students’ understanding of motivations and meanings in dress? and (3) Will introducing students to the concept of sustainability, specifically reusing textiles to create a new garment and prevent waste, foster greater interested in sustainable design? The project began six weeks into the course so that students would have a initial foundation of dress concepts prior to starting the project. Students were required to create a garment that was either upcycled or redesigned and implement their own dress motivations and meanings into their garments. The project included three main components: (a) a garment that was upcycled or redesigned, (b) a PowerPoint presentation file, and (c) the oral presentation of the project. The results of the upcycled/redesign garment project demonstrated that merchandising students can learn basic garment construction to complete a project and increase students’ understanding of dress motivations and meanings. Students expressed a desire to continue to experimentation in the future, demonstrating success in fostering student interest in sustainable design. Students also learned basic sewing methods and developed a deeper understanding of dress theory concepts and sustainability.