Debbie Ying-Chia Huang's research blog

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Transforming Innovative 2D Ideas into 3D Garments: Using  ‘Sculptural Form Giving’ as an Intermediate Step in Creation

* Ying-Chia Huang  **Britta Kalkreuter  ***Samantha Vettese Forster

* Heriot-Watt University, School of Textile and Design, UK  PhD student

** Heriot-Watt University, School of Textile and Design, UK  Lecturer

*** Heriot-Watt University, School of Textile and Design, UK  Lecturer

Abstract

This research paper reports the on the results of testing a novel fashion design method on a cohort of mixed fashion design and fashion technology students. The method, described as ‘sculptural form giving’ and created to reliably translate innovative two-dimensional ideas on paper via a structural design sculpture, into an intermediate model to represent design concept, was conceived as an intermediate step in creating a novel approach to educate students in fashion design representation. Second year fashion design and fashion technology students were evaluated on their understanding of the capabilities of the sculptural form method, which systematized the measuring of the design sketch to experiment the sculptural model mathematically in the spatial transformation. The research used complex quantitative methods to analyze the workshop data statistically, and a qualitative approach to obtain additional feedback on the sculptural form giving method from students and their tutors professionals.

Results showed that fashion design students adopted this method better than fashion technology students, giving interesting insights into the key ambitions of varying student cohorts, and also on the effect of marginally different contents in the first year design course structure. The research result showed the major advantage of the model to be a novel way to represent a fashion design idea in more than a sketch alone.

Keywords: Dimensional Transformation, Sculptural Model, Spatial Parameter, Fashion Design Method.