Danish Fashion Research at a turning point
The Danish fashion industry is in an extensive development. The Danish research within fashion is at the same time thoroughly establishing itself as research area of substance. This establishment of a Danish fashion research hub is news, until recently a research area within fashion has not been taken serious for the reason that fashion has had a touch of being superficial and as something only woman would have an interest in. Fashion has in other words not been a research area and subject to be taken serious. This might be a surprise, however, so is the reality.
The atmosphere is changing today. In Denmark a young Danish fashion research area is finding its way across different research disciplines as culture, trends, economy and innovation. MOKO (Modekonsortiet) and imagine.. Creative Industries Research Centre at CBS took an initiative to bring together a number of these young researchers at a 2 day PhD course. The course took place September 25 and 26 at Copenhagen Business School.
Design schools is leading the research
José Teunissen, Professor in fashion theory at Arnheim Design School in the Nederlands, explained that the fashion research has come through at design schools and business schools, not in the more traditional university research areas. The reason, according to José Teunissen, is that the design and business schools have a closer relation to practice. Hence, they are more likely to reveal the common misunderstandings, such as fashion as an area with a lack of depth and lack of any cultural and artistic content with significance and an acceptance of a commercial attitude.
"Fashion has been understood as a suspect cultural phenomenon for a long time; it is not until the 1990’ies that the more serious initiatives for an independent research have been taken. Until then the area is characterized by more singular research with a focal point on fashion as either cultural or economic. Fashion has not had a very prestigious place as an object to study,” explained José Teunissen.
However, this has changed; a broad acknowledgement of the value of more knowledge combining the economy and the cultural meanings at the institutions has risen. This is in order to approve a better and broader understanding of the fashion industry. A consequence is a strong emphasis on establishing a research area with a multidisciplinary approach.
Denmark in an international position
This picture, that Teunissen is drawing, also matches the situation in Denmark, where the design schools and CBS, has taken the frontier position establishing the new research agenda within fashion. Lise Skov, the conference organizer and associate professor at CBS, said that the fashion research today in Denmark is in the process of finding its standpoint. She believes that the main reason for this is the enormous development of the Danish fashion industry today. Denmark has within the last years achieved an international position and this achievement has enabled the new acknowledgement of fashion, both economical and cultural. Furthermore, Lise Skov explained at the PhD course, the new interest is connected to the general awareness of the creative industries and the awareness of establishing research taking up both art and commerce:
"A few years ago it would not have been possible to establish a meeting with the attendance of 20 researchers within fashion. The field of fashion research is establishing itself these days; this enables new corporation and it is a very interesting time”, she said.
Swedish recognition
Due to this establishing of the fashion research especially at design and business schools, it is interesting that Stockholm University this year starts a new education called 'Modevetenskab' – Fashion Science. Ingrid Giertz-Mårtensen, former chairman at Svensk Moderåd, presented her work within the development of the new education. She hopes the new academic degree will generate acknowledgements, thus enabling researchers to not excusing themselves writing about and studying fashion.
Fashion industry as an important partner
Many times during the course it was emphasized that dialogue and cooperation with the fashion industry are extremely important. The fashion research depends on this contact because of the innovation taking place everywhere in the fashion world – in the development of digital methods, in ‘trend forecasting’ and as entrepreneurship, just to name a few.
The fashion designer Peter Ingwersen presented his enterprise NOIR / Illuminati II. His ideas and methods demonstrated the possibility of a fashion brand being based on ethical values and visions, while Peter Dammand from The Danish School of Design gave an overview of the possibilities and the limitations of fashion with substantiality.
Finally, the newly pronounced director of innovation at Federation of Danish Textile and Clothing, Patrizia Venturelli Christensen, shared her visions on how the Danish fashion business will be able to take the step of becoming an innovation based creative industry.
There is no doubt, it is not just Danish fashion, but also Danish fashion research taking significant steps today, and in the years to come we will most likely come up with refreshing studies, new approaches and eager debates that also will be of great interest to the design industry.
Fahion-ology or research on fashion? took place at CBS September 25-26 2006. The course was arranged by associate professor Lise Skov (CBS) and PhD Marie Rigels (The Danish School of Design) in a cooperation between MOKO and imagine..
The attendants represented The Danish School of Design, Kolding School of Design, TEKO, CBS, The National Museum and universities in Sweden, The Netherlands, Ireland and Poland. A series of presentations focused on new initiatives at universities, at fashion institutes and in the fashion industry.
imagine .. Creative Industries Research
MOKO - potentials in fashion research
Questions: Lonnie Hansen, communications consultant (imagine .. Creative Industries Research) and Lise Skov (Department of Intercultural Communication and Management)