AN ANALYSIS OF DESIGNER PROBLEM-SOLVING IN ADDRESSING OVERCONSUMPTION OF CLOTHING A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fashion Industry Studies by Erin A. O’Brien August 2020 Thesis written by: Erin A. O’Brien B.A., Kent State University, 2008 M.F.I.S., Kent State University, 2020 Approved by: ______________________________________________________________________________ Ja Young Hwang, Ph.D., Thesis Supervisor ______________________________________________________________________________ Catherine Amoroso Leslie, Ph.D., Thesis Supervisor ______________________________________________________________________________ Robin Vande Zande, Ph.D., School of Art, Committee Member ______________________________________________________________________________ Jihyun Kim-Vick, Ph.D., Graduate Studies Coordinator, School of Fashion ______________________________________________________________________________ Louise Valentine, Ph.D., Director, School of Fashion ______________________________________________________________________________ John Crawford-Spinelli, Ed.D., Dean, College of the Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………. vi LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………………. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………... viii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………... ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….. 1 Background ……………………………………………………………………... 1 Significance of Study …………………………………………………………… 3 Purpose of Study ………………………………………………………………... 4 Research Questions ……………………………………………………………... 5 Definitions ………………………………………………………………………. 5 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE………………………………………………………. 10 Design Research…………………………………………………………………. 10 Creative Process…………………………………………………………………. 11 Models for Researching the Creative Design Process ………………………….. 12 Creating for a Market …………………………………………………………… 18 Creative Process and Fashion Design ……………………………………. 19 Fashion and Overconsumption …………………………………………………. 21 Fashion Companies Employing Design for Sustainability ……………………... 24 ADAY…………………………………………………………………….. 24 Athleta ……………………………………………………………………. 25 Ministry of Supply………………………………………………………... 26 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………… 26 III. METHODS…………………………………………………………………………. 28 Data Collection Procedures……………………………………………………… 30 iii Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………. 31 Justification for Research Design ………………………………………………. 31 IV. RESULTS AND FINDINGS……………………………………………………….. 32 In-depth Interview with Designers………………………………………………. 32 Designer 1 ………………………………………………………………... 32 Design Process …………………………………………………...... 33 Personal Influences and Reflections on the Design Process ………. 36 Addressing Overconsumption and Sustainability………………….. 39 Designer 2 ………………………………………………………………... 43 Design Process …………………………………………………...... 44 Personal Influences and Reflections on the Design Process ………. 47 Addressing Overconsumption and Sustainability………………….. 48 Designer 3 ………………………………………………………………... 50 Design Process …………………………………………………...... 51 Personal Influences and Reflections on the Design Process ………. 52 Addressing Overconsumption and Sustainability………………….. 54 Findings …………………………………………………………………………. 57 Understanding the Fashion Designer’s Creative Process ………………... 59 The Creative Design Process and Overconsumption …………………….. 63 V. DISCUSSION ……………………………………………………………………… 69 The Fashion Designer’s Creative Process ………………………………………. 70 The Creative Design Process and Overconsumption …………………………… 75 Conclusions …………………………………………………………………….. 79 Limitations ……………………………………………………………………… 82 Recommendations for Future Study ……………………………………………. 84 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………… 88 iv APPENDIX A: INTERVIEWS ………………………………………………………….. 95 Questionnaire ……………………………………………………………………… 96 Interview Questions ……………………………………………………………….. 98 APPENDIX B: HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH APPROVAL AND CONSENT.. 100 Informed Consent Form ………………………………………………………….. 101 Human Subject Approval Letter (IRB) …………………………………………... 103 v LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Double-Diamond Model of Design ……………………....…….……………….. 14 Figure 2 Double-Diamond Design Process Model ..……………………………………… 15 Figure 3 Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC) ……………………………………… 16 Figure 4 Framework of the creativity-based design process ……………………………... 17 Figure 5 Apparel Need and Expectations (ANE) model ……………….……………….... 19 Figure 6 Textile product design process stages …………………………………………... 20 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Csikszentmihalyi's (1996) nine main elements experienced during an optimal experience, or "Flow"……………………………………… 12 Table 2 Examples of Linear Historical Creative Process Models ……………………... 13 Table 3 Comparison of Participant Designers …………………………………………. 57 Table 4 Comparison of Participant Designers’ Companies …………………………… 63 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my advisors and committee for all of their time and attention with my thesis. I greatly appreciate all of their feedback and efforts in making me a better researcher through this process. A special thank you to Dr. Catherine Amoroso Leslie, for her role as my thesis co-advisor, but also her constant mentorship and dedication to my continued success throughout my graduate studies program and experience. Her passion for teaching and fashion education is contagious and an inspiration to everyone. A special thank you to Dr. Ja Young Hwang, my thesis co-advisor, for her incredible knowledge and research into creativity, fashion design and the professional fashion designer. My thesis would not have been possible without your expertise and guidance. Also, a special thank you to my committee member, Dr. Robin Vande Zande, for her valuable insight and participation with my thesis. Last but not least, I would like to thank both my family and friends that encouraged and supported me throughout this adventure. viii ABSTRACT Driven by fast fashion and overconsumption of clothing, the fashion industry is one of the largest polluters in the world. The purpose of this research was to explore the creative process of fashion designers in pursuit of a deeper understanding of creative problem-solving specific to fashion design as well as an effort to gain insight into pragmatic solutions for addressing the sustainability issue of overconsumption of clothing. This qualitative research examined the complex creative processes of three professional fashion designers with a minimum of thirteen years of experience. Utilizing open-ended, one-on-one interviews, participant data was recorded, transcribed and analyzed to identify emerging themes and patterns. A case study research design was used to present the findings. This study revealed that fashion designers specifically are crucial to finding sustainable solutions in changing the way the fashion industry operates. However, analysis also showed that overconsumption of clothing is a systemic problem which affects the whole fashion production model. Addressing overconsumption in the fashion industry includes a number of different facets, that include, but go substantially beyond design. In order to move away from the fast fashion model, change is required from both fashion professionals and consumers. The findings of this study add to the existing knowledge of design research and the creative process of professional fashion designers centered around problem-solving, experience, communication, customer, creative space and sources of inspiration. Furthermore, this study helps extend the knowledge of the complex issue of incorporating sustainable practices into the fashion industry by examining the challenges such as cost, thinking fabric first, continuous questions and profit as a goal. ix 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION As a young creative, I never had any thoughts as to how or why I was creating. All I knew was that everything else just fell away. No other thoughts crept in. That kind of focus did not manifest with anything else I was doing. To this day, creating is always when I am the most present. Up to this point, I had never really thought about my own creative process. Whenever I have something to create, I generally just let the process happen organically. To be honest, when I first considered breaking down the process, the thought bothered me. I imagined that some of the magic could possibly be stripped away, even potentially affecting the quality of my innate sense of design. The more I continued to think and read about creativity, the more I realized that actively thinking about the process, may in fact be extremely beneficial to my practice and designs. There may also be ways to improve my design process through reflection and understanding. By learning about the practices of other designers, I seek to find similarities or opportunities to incorporate their processes, or parts of their processes, into my own practice, especially in terms of addressing the challenging issue of sustainability and overconsumption of clothing. After speaking with other creatives about their processes, I learned more about how I approach problem-solving with design. Through a better understanding of how others design, I can ultimately become better in designing products that change the future of the fashion industry. Background The creative process has long been a mystical and obscure enigma. For anyone who has experienced it, time slips by unnoticed and the only thing that exists is that very moment. External thoughts, emotions, ideas, everything, just disappears (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). These