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Fashion Design in the 21St Century A TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVITY: FASHION DESIGN IN THE 21 ST CENTURY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by MARY RUPPERT-STROESCU Dr. Jana Hawley, Dissertation Supervisor May 2009 © Copyright by Mary Ruppert-Stroescu 2009 All Rights Reserved The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVITY: FASHION DESIGN IN THE 21 ST CENTURY Presented by Mary Ruppert-Stroescu, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. _______________________________ Dr. Kitty Dickerson _______________________________ Dr. Jana Hawley _______________________________ Dr. Laurel Wilson _______________________________ Dr. Julie Caplow I dedicate this dissertation to my sons, Matei and Ioan Stroescu, who are continuous sources of inspiration and joy. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor, Dr. Jana Hawley, for inspiring and challenging me without fail. I will remain eternally grateful as well to Dr. Laurel Wilson & Dr. Kitty Dickerson, for their patience, insight, and guidance. I must also recognize Dr. Jean Hamilton, whose courses I will never forget because her ability to communicate a passion for research sparked my path to this dissertation. Dr. Julie Caplow built upon the appreciation for qualitative research that began with Dr. Hamilton, and I thank her for her support. Without Peter Carman I would not have had a platform for connecting with the French industry interviewees. I thank my family for their support, and all those who took time from their professional obligations to discuss technology and creativity with me. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Statement of the problem .................................................................................. 1 Definitions ...................................................................................................... 2 The Discipline ............................................................................................ 2 The Fashion Industry ................................................................................. 3 The Luxury Segment of the Fashion Industry ............................................ 5 The Internet, the World Wide Web, and E-Commerce ............................... 7 Historical Context .......................................................................................... 9 The Origin of Luxury Fashion ..................................................................... 9 The Haute Couture .................................................................................. 15 Design diffusion through imitation. ....................................................... 17 World War II and the diffusion of fashion leadership. ........................... 19 Shifting Paradigm for the Fashion Industry .............................................. 21 The rise of a consumer-driven marketplace. ........................................ 22 The proliferation of ready-to-wear and offshore production. ................. 23 Brand development through licensing. ................................................. 24 The post-modern luxury environment. .................................................. 26 Technology created new environments for social and business interaction. ............................................................................................ 28 The creative class. ............................................................................... 33 A global competitive environment. ....................................................... 35 iii Technology, Mystery and Surprise .......................................................... 37 Technology as a threat. ........................................................................ 37 Process technology and information technology. ................................. 38 Theoretical Domain ..................................................................................... 40 Cultural Change and Anthropology .......................................................... 40 Culturology and the Internet ..................................................................... 42 Cultural Materialism and the Fashion Industry ......................................... 43 Research Method and Purpose ................................................................... 44 Grounded Theory ..................................................................................... 45 Application of Findings ............................................................................. 46 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................. 47 Fashion ........................................................................................................... 47 Creativity ......................................................................................................... 51 Technology ..................................................................................................... 55 Academic study of related topics .................................................................... 55 Theoretical domain ......................................................................................... 59 Affect of the literature review on the research process ................................... 61 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 62 Conceptual Approaches to Social Science Research ..................................... 62 Qualitative Research and Design Strategy ..................................................... 63 The Long Interview ...................................................................................... 65 Exploratory perspective: Unifying Metatheory for Clothing and Textiles .. 66 Domains of Inquiry ................................................................................... 68 Determination of Subjects ........................................................................... 69 Data Collection Experience ......................................................................... 70 iv Grounded Theory ........................................................................................ 73 Chapter 4: Descriptive findings and analysis ...................................................... 76 The Creative Process ..................................................................................... 76 Defining Creativity ....................................................................................... 76 Creativity Blends Intellect and Emotion ....................................................... 78 Creativity in Fashion Design ........................................................................... 80 The Importance of Creativity in Fashion Design .......................................... 80 Categorizing Creativity ................................................................................ 80 Creative Barrier or Catalyst? ....................................................................... 81 Creativity and Marketability ...................................................................... 82 Creativity as a Competitive Advantage .................................................... 83 Constraints to Creativity in Fashion Design ............................................. 84 Consumer taste. ................................................................................... 84 Receptivity to innovation. ..................................................................... 86 A Typology of Creativity .................................................................................. 87 Influences .................................................................................................... 87 Price-Point and Creativity ........................................................................ 87 Creativity as Problem Solving .................................................................. 88 Leadership Creativity or Adaptive Creativity ................................................ 89 Creativity Type Not Bound to the Product’s Price .................................... 90 Creativity Type Related to Customer’s Taste Level ................................. 92 Interdependence of Creativity Types ....................................................... 94 Technology and Creativity............................................................................... 96 A Typology of Technology in the Fashion Industry ...................................... 96 Process Technology and Creativity ............................................................. 99 v Information Technology and the Fashion Industry ..................................... 102 Information Technology as an Administrative Tool ................................ 102 E-Mail: a necessary evil? .................................................................. 102 Adding a communication channel. ..................................................... 104 Contribution to fast fashion................................................................. 105 Limitations of Information
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