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127 Fashion Design Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Fashion design is a creative and dynamic field that combines artistry with functionality. From clothing to accessories, fashion designers play a crucial role in shaping the way we dress and express ourselves. If you are a fashion student or aspiring designer looking for inspiration for your next essay or project, look no further. Here are 127 fashion design essay topic ideas and examples to help you get started:

• The evolution of denim fashion
• The impact of streetwear on mainstream fashion
• The role of sustainability in fashion design
• The influence of social media on fashion trends
• The history of haute couture
• The rise of gender-neutral fashion
• The significance of color theory in fashion design
• The relationship between fashion and identity
• The process of garment construction
• The importance of textile selection in fashion design
• The role of technology in fashion innovation
• The history of fashion illustration
• The impact of globalization on fashion design
• The relationship between fashion and politics
• The role of fashion in cultural appropriation
• The future of fashion retail
• The influence of music on fashion trends
• The significance of body positivity in fashion design
• The role of fashion in storytelling
• The history of fashion magazines
• The impact of fast fashion on the environment
• The relationship between fashion and art
• The influence of celebrity style on fashion trends
• The role of fashion in self-expression
• The history of fashion photography
• The significance of accessories in fashion design
• The impact of vintage fashion on contemporary design
• The relationship between fashion and technology
• The influence of architecture on fashion design
• The role of fashion in subcultures
• The history of fashion shows
• The significance of fashion in film and television
• The impact of social movements on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and sustainability
• The influence of sports on fashion design
• The role of fashion in the workplace
• The history of fashion advertising
• The significance of branding in fashion design
• The impact of body image on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and psychology
• The influence of nature on fashion design
• The role of fashion in education
• The history of fashion retail
• The significance of fashion in literature
• The impact of technology on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and music
• The influence of travel on fashion design
• The role of fashion in social justice movements
• The history of fashion icons
• The significance of cultural appropriation in fashion design
• The impact of social media influencers on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and gender identity
• The influence of street style on fashion design
• The role of fashion in the digital age
• The history of fashion forecasting
• The significance of body proportions in fashion design
• The impact of pop culture on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and the economy
• The influence of historical events on fashion design
• The role of fashion in activism
• The significance of fashion archives
• The impact of celebrity collaborations on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and cultural appropriation
• The influence of art movements on fashion design
• The role of fashion in the entertainment industry
• The history of fashion bloggers
• The significance of fashion in social media
• The impact of sustainability in fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and the environment
• The influence of street art on fashion design
• The role of fashion in political protests
• The history of fashion exhibitions
• The significance of fashion in museums
• The impact of body diversity on fashion trends
• The influence of music festivals on fashion design
• The role of fashion in cultural heritage preservation
• The history of fashion documentaries
• The significance of fashion in virtual reality
• The impact of celebrity fashion lines on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and body image
• The influence of sports uniforms on fashion design
• The role of fashion in identity politics
• The history of fashion in video games
• The significance of fashion in cosplay
• The impact of gender-neutral fashion on fashion trends
• The relationship between fashion and the LGBTQ+ community
• The influence of drag culture on fashion design
• The role of fashion in disability representation
• The history of fashion in film and television
• The significance of fashion in performance art
• The impact of fashion weeks on fashion trends
• The relationship

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Essays on Fashion Design

The Future of Fashion

Fashion journalist Alexander Fury pens an essay on the freedom of fashion designers and where the industry stands.

It's a cliché to say that fashion is shifting—fashion always shifts. It is, by its very nature, malleable and mutable, each season transforming itself, and hopefully you, into something new. It is an industry predicated on a perpetual dynamic of change, of constant renewal, of fresh blood. These changes can be invigorating. They can reset the eye. Really great fashion can shift not just the what but the why, altering not only the physical form of the clothes on your back but the psychological ramifications of wearing them. Fashion can shift perceptions of the self.

But at the moment fashion seems to be preoccupied with its shifting perceptions of itself. The current landscape—as with so many landscapes—is in peril. Long-held “rules” are being questioned, rewritten, or scrapped entirely. The biannual fashion calendar has been tossed out, with designers showing their clothes between seasons, on men and women simultaneously, and in weeks traditionally reserved for one or the other. Designers are selling their wares straight off the runway— “see now, buy now,” in the industry parlance—or hoarding imagery altogether until their clothes hit the rack. Houses are staging shows in more intimate settings, like private garages (Ralph Lauren) or their own ateliers (Maison Margiela), while others thirstily live-stream every stitch. Alexander Wang staged his show on the streets of New York this fall, to the delight of passing tourists. The rules are, there are no rules, as Aristotle Onassis once said. It’s a free-for-all in free fall.

The signs have been there for years—the dominance of social platforms, the ever-growing number of collections, the ascendance of the consumer as arbiter of contemporary taste, and the general need for speed. But the repercussions of these gradual changes in the fashion climate are being felt only now, and with seismic force. This has been, understandably, discombobulating for anyone caught up in the maelstrom. Which explains the prevailing attitude of today—looking back rather than forward. Revivals are rife, and have been for the past decade at least; the latest favorite is fashion houses hurrahing anniversaries, or installing new designers at moribund labels to give them fresh life (again, that’s been going on for a while, albeit with increasing alacrity). Why? Because history speaks of stability, of perpetuity. If a brand has survived, successfully, for 50 years, 70 years, even a century, there’s no reason to believe that it won’t survive that long again. Anniversaries are proof of staying power, which is all-important in a fickle landscape. History is comforting because the past is assured.

Early last year, I met with Pierre Bergé, cofounder of the house of Yves Saint Laurent. It was only a few months before he passed away, rightly acclaimed as one of the architects of modern fashion: “Le Force.” When I asked Bergé about history—this man who created so much of it—he pursed his lips and spat out a phrase that resonated with me: “I hate the past. I hate nostalgia.” It’s a sentiment echoed in the words of Karl Lagerfeld. “I don’t reinterpret the past. I’m pretentious enough to say that we invent something for today,” he told me after his Fall 2017 couture show. Lagerfeld isn’t looking back; he’s looking around, drawing the spirit of the moment into his creations. Fashion’s great movers and shakers, its true forward-thinkers, are embracing the new uncertainty and challenging the old boundaries. They think with Bergé’s mind-set. It’s not a case of destroying traditions, far from it. But it is an acknowledgment that evolution, perhaps, isn’t enough—revolution is the only way to jolt us out of complacency.

The designer Azzedine Alaïa, for instance, is often talked about as a “rule breaker,” but it’s usually in a superficial way. No one has ever been able to comprehend why he chooses not to present his collections at the same time as everyone else, even as the show schedules become clogged with designers who, in all honesty, neither need nor deserve to be there. Just as Alaïa’s home is far away from the headquarters of other Paris houses—in the Marais, where real people actually live—he has removed himself from the fashion melee.

“I am free,” he once told me. “If I don’t feel it, I don’t do it. I always feel free. This is my strength.” He also told me that, if he had just one new idea a year, he would be happy. Two new ideas? “Genius!” Alaïa is filled with ideas, but he doesn’t always consider them new. He has eschewed the pursuit of relentless novelty in favor of perfecting his own style and aesthetic, confident that others will be won over by his vision. He’s right. Alaïa is joined by relatively few others—Rick Owens, Alessandro Michele at Gucci, Miuccia Prada, to name a few—whose choices will inform the careers of generations of designers. They refuse to obey rules because they make their own. And, at the moment, they are ripping apart fashion’s etiquette book and demanding serious change.

“People say that I’m a punk,” Miuccia Prada said with a laugh after showing her Spring 2018 collection of studs and torn-looking prints. Again, superficiality, but she meant punk in attitude, which is understandable. Prada actively rejects not tradition but convention, trying to find a different path.

.css-1pfpin{font-family:NewParisTextBook,NewParisTextBook-roboto,NewParisTextBook-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-size:1.75rem;line-height:1.2;margin:0rem;padding-left:5rem;padding-right:5rem;}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1pfpin{padding-left:2.5rem;padding-right:2.5rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1pfpin{font-size:2.5rem;line-height:1.2;}}.css-1pfpin b,.css-1pfpin strong{font-family:inherit;font-weight:bold;}.css-1pfpin em,.css-1pfpin i{font-style:normal;font-family:NewParisTextItalic,NewParisTextItalic-roboto,NewParisTextItalic-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;} "The future of fashion rests with designers who lead rather than follow. In bold moves and upheavals."

“I like to create things that appear attractive, easy, but that afterward—depending on the culture of the person—will make the wearer feel something else,” she says. “The sophisticated person looks at everything. Someone superficial gets only the facade.” This ability to do both—to deliver beauty, but also a deeper message for those who care to discover it—is what unites fashion’s rule breakers.

“I read a lot about what is right, and what is wrong, as if you have to follow some code,” Alessandro Michele tells me. “This is something that can kill fashion and creativity.”

“I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do,” adds Rick Owens, echoing the words of Alaïa. “It’s not like I’m obligated to make any compromises, which is a wonderful thing. I probably sound a little gloating when I say that—a little boastful—but it’s significant. I could just burn the whole place down if I wanted to.”

So perhaps it’s freedom from traditional rules that will create the future of fashion—a refusal to conform to the demands of the industry, however you perceive them. In their way, all these designers are challenging convention, and winning, creating the fresh rules that others wind up following.

When you talk to these designers—the names who are defining what we wear this very minute—common themes emerge. A loathing of the superficial, a disdain for conformity, a prizing of independence. And as you look at their collections, you realize that it isn’t just about the clothes; it’s about the entire universe each of them has been able to create—about Michele’s Gucci stores transformed into tactile playgrounds; about Alaïa’s converted warehouse in the Marais, a Valhalla containing his work and living spaces, a boutique, and a pair of Julian Schnabel smashed-plate portraits. It’s about Rick Owens’s furniture, his two-ton alabaster beds, and petrified-wood-and-antler chairs, and about Miuccia Prada’s Via Fogazzaro teatro reinvented, endlessly, for each new iteration of her ideas.

Yet those worlds all lead back to the clothes. They aren’t set dressing or a distraction; they are frames to emphasize and contextualize proscenium arches under which fashion is acted out. The focus is on the performers—not the models, but the garments. Designers creating worlds isn’t anything especially new—in the 1930s, Elsa Schiaparelli had her shocking-pink Surrealist salon on the Place Vendôme; in the ’40s, Christian Dior his dove-gray Louis Seize revival townhouse on Avenue Montaigne. They were, aesthetically and creatively, worlds apart. What is new are the clothes designers are creating to populate them. The future of fashion lies there—in the actual nuts and bolts of designing garments. There are already tectonic movements afoot: the way a designer like Michele creates his collections—pulling from a wide-ranging and esoteric landscape of references—has not only been altered but also reengineered by the advent of the Internet, which allows designers access to every image ever produced. The next generation of designers—those brought up in the digital age, with the Web as a lifelong companion—will reflect how that access has reprogrammed the human brain.

The Web scientist Michael K. Bergman has compared plugging search terms into Google to dragging a net across the ocean. You may catch something, but there are fathoms you can’t fathom. That’s where we are right now with the impact of digital on design. It’s not changing the way we look, inasmuch as it’s transforming the way we experience, the way we think. Given all this, it’s fair to say that the way the next generation of designers will create clothes will have little to do with how clothes are made now. They certainly won’t think about them the same way. They already don’t.

Which brings us back to Monsieur Bergé—to the essentiality of a designer living in his or her time, and creating clothes that reflect it. There was a similarly seismic moment in the late 1960s, when youth quaked and rebelled, and a dynamic young couturier named Yves Saint Laurent came up with a novel idea—ready-to-wear—that democratized fashion, broke down old class hierarchies, and made designer clothing accessible to all. “Because he lived in our time,” Bergé explained. The future of fashion rests with designers who lead rather than follow. In bold moves and upheavals. In designers who are truly free.

This article originally appears in the November 2017 issue of Harper's Bazaar.

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Essay on Fashion for Students and Children

500+ words essay on fashion.

Fashion refers to anything that becomes a rage among the masses. Fashion is a popular aesthetic expression. Most Noteworthy, it is something that is in vogue. Fashion appears in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup, hairstyles, lifestyle, and body proportions. Furthermore, Fashion is an industry-supported expression. In the contemporary world, people take fashion very seriously. Fashion is something that has permeated every aspect of human culture.

History of Fashion

The origin of Fashion is from the year 1826. Probably everyone believes Charles Frederick to be the first fashion designer of the world. He also established the first Fashion house in Paris. Consequently, he began the tradition of Fashion houses. Furthermore, he gave advice to customers on what clothing would suit them. He was prominent form 1826 to 1895.

During this period, many design houses hired artists. Furthermore, the job of these artists was to develop innovative designs for garments. The clients would examine many different patterns. Then they would pick the one they like. Consequently, a tradition began of presenting patterns to customers and then stitching them.

At the beginning of the 20th century, new developments in Fashion took place. These developments certainly began in Paris first. Then they spread in other parts of the world. Consequently, new designs first came into existence in France. From Paris, they went to other parts of the world. Hence, Paris became the Fashion capital of the world. Also, Fashion in this era was ‘haute couture’. This Fashion design was exclusively for individuals.

In the mid-20th century, a change took place. Now Fashion garments underwent mass production. There was a significant increase in the rate of production of Fashion garments. As a result, more and more people became involved with Fashion garments. By the end of the 20th century, a sense of Fashion awareness was very strong. Now people began to choose clothes based on their own style preference. Hence, people began to create their own trends instead of relying on existing trends.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Fashion Trend

Political influences certainly play a major role in influencing Fashion. Many politicians become fashion symbols. Notable examples are First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana. Also, political revolutions make a huge impact on the Fashion trend. For example, in 1960’s America, liberal clothing styles became popular among the younger generation. This was due to the Liberal revolution.

Another significant factor which influences Fashion trend is technology. There certainly has been a rapid growth of technology in the Fashion industry. For example, wearable technology has become a popular Fashion trend. Furthermore, 3D printing technology and the internet have also made an impact on Fashion.

Social influences are probably the strongest influences on the Fashion trend. Many music stars strongly influence Fashion choice. For example, wearing hoodies became famous due to rap musicians. Furthermore, movie and television actors create a big impact on Fashion. Many youngsters love to emulate the Fashion sense of their favourite celebrity.

To sum it up, Fashion certainly has become a part and parcel of human life. It certainly is a force that is here to stay. Most noteworthy, Fashion has immersed every place on Earth.

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Essay: Why Fashion is Important

The Fashionisto

Published October 18, 2017

Updated May 4, 2024

Fashion is one of the most critical industries in our world today. Style has become one of the primary ways in which people express their personality and distinguish themselves from those around them. With every New Year which comes and goes, new fashions arrive on the scene, and they all endeavor to be more colorful and fashionable than those which saw last year. There’s inspiration everywhere, from online retailers like Roden Gray to printed magazines. The desire to express one was present throughout human history.

People of all ages are addicted to new trends in fashion. There is a tremendous amount of competition within the industry and also among consumers. The style is also different among different cultures and nationalities, which is why it’s so exciting when one travels to various parts of the planet to observe firsthand how people dress in those countries. Our clothes have become more than merely a way to cover our nakedness. Instead, it has also become one of the primary ways in which people express themselves.

Garments which may fit one person may not necessarily be equally suitable for someone else. And even if those clothes are fantastic designer efforts, it does not mean everyone would be equally comfortable wearing them. Different people will need different styles and designs, which will be an expression of their uniqueness and personality before they will not be comfortable wearing that specific fashion design. Human beings are complicated creatures; everyone has different desires, dreams, and objectives that they deem essential to success in their life. Fashion trends are a critical aspect of that success.

There is a lot of discrimination among human beings and also a lot of criticism. People will do everything possible to avoid such criticism. Peer pressure continues to affect people throughout their lives, and it is a powerful motivator when it comes to crucial fashion decisions. It is also true that fashion design has reached a very sophisticated level, and therefore some of the most popular models can be very costly.

It has the result that such fashion may only be accessible to affluent people. It can make it very difficult for people of average income to compete in fashion designs. Fortunately, there has been a lot of progress by fashion designers to cater to middle-income consumers. It is why there are a lot of fashion designs available, which can make it possible for less fortunate people to own still fashion designs that will be of very high quality and attractive.

There are fashion items for every season and every occasion, making it possible for people to express themselves differently depending on the specific season or time of the year. Looking at all the consumer needs that have emerged in modern times, it becomes easy to see why fashion design has become such a specialized industry.

Another aspect that deserves contemplation is the fact that there is a measure of similarity in those fashion trends which aim at the low-income person. It is going a long way in avoiding discrimination or unnecessary competition because there is a lot of similarity in the designs which aim at this consumer market. Therefore, less affluent people can avoid unwarranted discrimination and criticism because, they are dressed very similarly in many ways to their friends, colleagues, or family members.

Care should be taken to avoid fashion designs of poor quality, especially in cases where failed fashion experiments are nevertheless mass-produced and then dumped on the low-income consumer. On the other hand, some poor people cannot afford anything better, leaving her with no choice but to purchase low-quality products.

Nevertheless, an eye for detail can be a blessing because this can help a person who may only have access to low-quality fashion items to mix and match those things very efficiently so that the overall result is nonetheless beautiful. There is some truth to the statement that it’s not what you wear but how you wear it, which is the most critical issue.

Unfortunately, many people never seem to learn how to combine different fashion items correctly and adequately. Knowing which colors go together is a rare gift that some people never master. Therefore, even affluent people with access to very costly fashion items often fail to do those things justice because of a lack of understanding regarding color matching.

Many people seem to think tight clothing is more attractive than a loose-fitting dress, and then they make fools of themselves by wearing unnecessarily close-fitting clothes. It is why it is essential to have at least a basic understanding of choosing your fashion items and mixing and matching those things for the best results. Access to the most expensive fashion trends on the market is undoubtedly a benefit. Still, it’s even more important to have a basic sense of how to maximize how the wearer will display those clothes and other articles.

Clothes are also known to impact people’s moods substantially; likewise, some colors are more effective than others in putting people in a better place as far as their mindset and emotions are concerned. Every person should do at least an introductory modeling course to understand how to make the best of their free clothes and accessories. Like we said earlier, it is not so much what you are wearing but rather how you are wearing it, which will ultimately provide proof of your competence as far as fashion and personal appearance is concerned.

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Fashion Designers: Coco Chanel’s Artistic Process Essay

This paper is aimed at examining the main elements involved in the artistic process. In particular, it is necessary to focus on the work of fashion designers. The main difficulty is that there is no universal pattern that can accurately describe their activities. This is one of the main peculiarities that can be identified.

On the whole, one can examine the artistic process by looking at the work of Coco Chanel. This fashion artist made a very revealing statement about her work. In particular, she said, “I set fashions precisely because I went out, because I was the first woman to live fully the life of her times” (Chanel as cited in Crane 65). This quote is relevant to this essay because it indicates that the experience of clients and their needs guide the work of a fashion artists.

Overall, it is possible to distinguish several stages of the artistic process: 1) introduction of a new concept or modification of previous ones; 2) evaluation of various alternatives that help a designer to implement his/her ideas; 3) experimentation, and 4) the selection of particular products that can be offered to the public. In the course of his/her work, a fashion designer relies on the method of trial and error or repeated attempts through which a person identifies possible limitations and improves the final product. These are the main issues can be singled out.

At first, one should focus on the creation of a new concept. At this stage, a fashion designer can adopt several strategies. In particular, he/she can introduce a modification of already-existing articles of clothing. In some case, this modification can be very successful because a fashion artist can make these products more attractive or comfortable.

For instance, it is possible to change existing cardinal suits, sweaters, and so forth. In contrast, a fashion artist may put forward a dramatically new model. Coco Chanel preferred to create new styles that could better correspond to the lives of women (Crane 65). In some cases, fashion artists prefer to study the previous works of other designers.

In this way, they derive inspirations for their work. This is another approach that should not be overlooked. Furthermore, while looking at the creation of new articles of clothing, it is also necessary to consider the identity of a specific brand or a fashion house. In other words, the work of a designer should comply with certain standards that are established in this organization. This is one of the main issues that should be considered.

Furthermore, it is critical to evaluate different options that are suitable for the implementation of a design. This is probably the most important step that should be taken by a fashion artist. At this point, a fashion designer has to decide how exactly his ideas can be put into practice. For instance, Coco Chanel chose to eliminate superfluous elements that did not serve any practical (Crane 65). Therefore, her major criterion was functionality, rather than only aestheticism (Crane 65).

Furthermore, she chose to use such a material as jersey that had previously been used only for the clothes of workers. Other designers can take different approaches while evaluating various options that are available to them. At the stage, when an artist has already assessed alternatives, it is possible for him/her to procure necessary materials or create detailed drawings and description of future products.

Additionally, it is important to focus on experimentation or the method trial and error. This technique is critical for the work of a fashion designer because he/she has to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the new clothes that were created. Moreover, one has to understand how the new products will be perceived and used by potential clients. These are the main goals that should be attained. This is why fashion shows play such an important role for many designers.

In this way, one can identify possible limitations or wind ways of improving the new designs. Furthermore, it is vital to focus on the selection of particular clothes for the collection. A fashion artist should determine which pieces will be best received by critics and clients. This task is also critical for a person working in this area, because ability to choose certain products is an indicator of one’s artistic taste. Each of the stages described in this paper are vital for the success of a fashion artist.

The artistic process can be viewed as a continuous search for innovative and original decisions. One can see that the work of fashion designers is very complex because they people should take into account various factors such as the needs of users, existing trends, or willingness to innovate.

Overall, this process is complete when a designer has created a new type of clothing or any other product that can be used by potential clients. However, one should keep in mind that many fashion artists can be described perfectionists who continuously rework existing designs in effort to eliminate any drawbacks. This is one of the details that can be identified.

Works Cited

Crane, Diana. “Fashion Design and Social Change: Women Designers and Stylistic Innovation.” Journal of American Culture 22.1 (1999): 61-8. ProQuest. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, December 19). Fashion Designers: Coco Chanel's Artistic Process. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fashion-designers/

"Fashion Designers: Coco Chanel's Artistic Process." IvyPanda , 19 Dec. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/fashion-designers/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Fashion Designers: Coco Chanel's Artistic Process'. 19 December.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Fashion Designers: Coco Chanel's Artistic Process." December 19, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fashion-designers/.

1. IvyPanda . "Fashion Designers: Coco Chanel's Artistic Process." December 19, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fashion-designers/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Fashion Designers: Coco Chanel's Artistic Process." December 19, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/fashion-designers/.

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Essays About Fashion: Top 5 Examples and 9 Prompts

If you are writing essays about fashion, check out our guide of helpful examples and exciting writing prompts to get started.

Fashion is individuals’ way of expressing their personalities. They do this through clothes and accessories that display their tastes and preferences. There are different fashion styles and trends, and anyone can choose anything they want to follow. Additionally, fashion has various benefits, such as boosting self-confidence, lightening moods, and developing creativity. Our fashion choices also help us send messages and present our beliefs. Thus, fashion can also be political .

Below are five essay examples and nine writing prompts to help you create an eye-catching essay about fashion:

5 Top Essay Examples

1. why fashion is important by george k., 2. fashion: an important part of life by ankita yadav, 3. fashion as communication by eunice summers, 4. fashion 2022 by edudwar, 5. the effect of fashion on teenagers in school by anonymous on newyorkessays.com, 1. fashion trends and women, 2. fashion evolution, 3. fashion and starting a business, 4. effects of fashion on society, 5. the best fashion styles for men, 6. fashion trends in different countries , 7. careers in the fashion industry, 8. cultural fashion vs. modern fashion, 9. the best and worst of fashion trends.

“The clothes we wear has become more than merely a way to cover our nakedness; instead it has also become one of the primary ways in which people express themselves.”

George K explains that fashion separates individuals from the rest. A person can introduce himself to others for who and what he is through style choices. Further, the author expounds on how fashion is a very competitive industry that depends on one’s search for identity. The author also points out that every person is unique and thus needs a distinct style to fit them. However, because of constant peer pressure and criticism, an individual’s fashion picks can’t be entirely their own. Ultimately, George K reminds the reader that it’s not just the clothes but how individuals wear and feel in them.

“…if we can do something then it is choosing the right stuff like entertainment, adventure, fashion, etc. All these things can make us happy and are also an important part of life. Fashion always attracts and it is available for all,”

Yadav considers how fashion originated from people’s traditions and cultures and became what it is today through individuals adopting each style and making it their own. In the following sections of the essay, she defines fashion and lists its importance, including how it developed new employment options and how styles speak for the wearer. 

In her conclusion, she encourages everyone to choose their styles and not to mind their age. Fashion helps everyone live life to the fullest.

“Fashion is an industry based on creating a need where there is none and nowadays, due to the current recession, I can understand that fashion may not be people’s biggest concern. But we cannot qualify it as ‘trivial’ since we are surrounded by it; each new generation of customers is highly exposed to commercial influences.”

Summers gives her opinion about the book “Fashion as Communication” by Malcolm Barnard . She identifies points in the work and shares her thoughts on them. The first point being those working in the fashion industry aren’t smart. As a Fashion Marketing student, Summers vehemently disagrees with this statement and recounts her experiences to counter it. She continues to analyze Barnard’s other arguments and agrees with some of them. Summers ends her essay by highlighting that fashion is too essential in modern culture and economic organization for it to be considered “trivial.”

“…the youth cares more about what they wear and how they look which could affect their status in their peer group and meddle with their mental health. Following trends and doing what everyone is doing like a sheep is never a good idea. Fashion is there to reflect your personal style, not copying what other people think is trendy.”

User Edudwar reminds people that fashion is not simply following what’s currently trendy. Fashion is there to give people the chance to show off their individualism and personalities and not present a fake version of themselves to be accepted by society. Additionally, he mentions that youth nowadays are more sensitive to what people think of them, so some will always do everything to follow trends, even if they’re not presentable or appropriate.

“Youths of the present times have indulged themselves in so much fashion that they do not receive sufficient time for other work… The time spent on studies is being used in watching TV programmes, reading fashion articles, or even finding the recent trendy outfits on the Internet.”

The essay discusses the real effects of fashion on today’s youth. The author focuses on kids zeroing in on finding the latest style instead of caring for their studies that directly affect their future. The essay also delves into how youths of yesterday had ambitions and goals in life compared to today’s youths, who prefer to have fun rather than study hard.

See our best essay writing tips to help you write an attractive, attention-grabbing essay.

9 Writing Prompts For Essays About Fashion

To assist you with your essay, we’ve compiled nine exciting writing prompts you can use:

Some women follow fashion trends religiously. They are also more conscious of their physical appearance. Some even go to the extreme and do plastic surgeries to look better in clothes. In your essay, discuss what you think these trends do to women’s perception of their worth and beauty. Add which trends you believe are unhealthy and why there’s more societal pressure for women to be fashionable.

Each era had its styles that directly resulted from that time’s circumstances. Make a timeline of how fashion evolved and the factors that influenced them. At the end of your essay, pick what you think is the best fashion era and explain why.

For this prompt, include the relevant things a future fashion clothing boutique owner should bear in mind. For instance, they should always be on top of the fashion trends and know how to balance demand and costs. Then, find a boutique owner and interview them about their experience to make your essay more fun to read.

Tackle what makes people choose the clothes they wear daily. Some prefer their fashion to display their personalities while others merely follow what they think is popular. To make your essay more interesting, you can do a simple experiment: Go out in public on two occasions: while wearing your fashion picks and donning the latest fashionable clothes. Then, add your findings and how people reacted to you.

Fashion for men is different from women. Although most brands dedicate their line to women, men also deserve to know what makes them look fashionable; this essay lists styles that are excellent for men depending on the setting and event. 

What could be considered fashionable in one country can be seen as disrespectful in another. For this prompt, compile fashion trends many do but are unacceptable in other places. Reasons why may include religion or tradition. Use research data and cite reliable sourcing for a compelling piece.

In this essay, identify the career opportunities available in the fashion industry, including the steps to get there. Next, list the different job roles within fashion, and describe the responsibilities for each. Then, add tips on succeeding in that job and standing out from the rest. For an intriguing essay, conduct interviews with professionals within the industry and include this in your piece.

Our ancestors’ culture greatly influenced today’s fashion. Meanwhile, modern styles are those that the current generation uses. Write an essay about cultural and contemporary fashion’s differences, similarities, advantages, and disadvantages. 

Fashion trends come and go. However, not all popular fashion is pleasing to the eyes. For this essay, compile a list of what is, in your opinion, the best and worst fashion trends. Then, describe why you have formed these opinions and describe the details of each outfit.

Are you looking for your next essay subject? Check out our list of the best writing topics for students .

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research

• Open access
• Published: 25 December 2022

Evaluation and trend of fashion design research: visualization analysis based on CiteSpace

• Yixin Zou   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1880-6382 1 ,
• Sarawuth Pintong 2 ,
• Tao Shen 3 &
• Ding-Bang Luh 1  

Fashion and Textiles volume  9 , Article number:  45 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

9638 Accesses

4 Citations

Metrics details

Fashion or apparel refers to a topic discussed publicly as an indispensable discipline on a day-to-day basis, which has aroused rising attention from academic sessions over the past two decades. However, since the topic of fashion design covers knowledge in extensive ranges and considerable information, scholars have not fully grasped the research field of fashion design, and the research lacks directional guidance. To gain more insights into the existing research status and fronts in the fashion design field, this study conducts a quantitative literature analysis. The research of this study is conducted by employing CiteSpace technology to visualize and analyze 1388 articles regarding “fashion design” in the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection. To be specific, the visualization and the analysis concentrate on the annual number of articles, author collaboration, institutional collaboration, literature citations, keywords clustering, and research trend evolution of the mentioned articles. As highlighted by this study, the effect of the US and the UK on academic research in fashion design is relatively stronger and extensive. Sustainable fashion refers to the research topic having aroused more attention since 2010, while new research topics over the past few years consist of “wearable fashion”, “transgender fashion” and “medical fashion”. The overall research trend of fashion design is developing as interdisciplinary cross research. This study systematically reviews the relevant literature, classifies the existing research status, research hotspots and frontier trends in the academic field of “fashion design”, and presents the knowledge map and information of literature for researchers in relevant fields.

Introduction

In academic research and writing, researchers should constantly search relevant literature to gain systematic insights into the subject area (e.g., the major research questions in the field, the seminal studies, the landmark studies, the most critical theories, methods and techniques, as well as the most serious current challenges). The process to answer the mentioned questions refers to an abstract process, which requires constant analysis, deduction and generalization. Any literature emerging over time may be critical, any research perspective may cause novel inspiration, and any detail can be the beginning of the subsequent research. However, when literature is being sorted and analyzed, if judgment only complies with personal experience, important literature will be inevitably missed, or the research direction will be lost in the research. For the process of conducting literature analysis, Hoover proposed that the quantitative methods of literature represent elements or features of literary texts numerically, applying effective, accurate and widely accepted mathematical methods to measure, classify and analyze literature quantitatively (Hoover, 2013 ). On this basis, literary data and information are more comprehensively processed. Prof. Chaomei Chen developed CiteSpace to collect, analyze, deliver and visualize literature information by creating images, diagrams or animations, thereby helping develop scientific knowledge maps and data mining of scientific literature. Knowledge visualization primarily aims to detect and monitor the existing state of research and research evolution in a knowledge field. Knowledge visualization has been exploited to explore trends in fields (e.g., medical, management science, biomedicine and biotechnology).

However, the international research situation in fashion design has not been analyzed by scholars thus far. Fashion, a category of discourse, has been arousing scholars’ attention since the late nineteenth century (Kim, 1998 ). In such an era, fashion is recognized by individuals of all classes and cultures, and it is publicly perceived. The field of fashion design is significantly correlated with people's lives (Boodro, 1990 ), and numerous nations and universities have long developed courses regarding fashion design or fashion. Besides, the development of fashion acts as a symbol of the soft power of the country. The discussion on fashion trend, fashion designer, fashion brands, artwork and other topics in the society turns out to be the hotspot discussed on a nearly day-to-day basis, and the discussion in the society even exceeds the academic research. However, the academic research of fashion design refers to a topic that cannot be ignored. The accumulation and achievements of academic research are manifested as precipitation of knowledge for developing the existing fashion field, while significantly guiding future generations. Studying the publishing situation and information in fashion design will help fashion practitioners or researchers classify their knowledge and provide them with novel inspiration or research and literature directions.

This study complies with the method of quantitative literature analysis, and CiteSpace software is adopted to analyze the literature in fashion design. Through searching web of science (WOS) Core Collection, 1388 articles regarding “fashion design” are retained. Co-citation, co-authoring and co-occurrence analysis refer to the major functions of CiteSpace. This study analyzes the articles regarding “fashion design”, and the focus is placed on the annual publication volume, author collaboration, institutional collaboration, national collaboration, literature citations, keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, and the research evolution, and visualized the literature and research as figures of these articles. The results here are presented as figures. This study provides the fronts knowledge, the current research status research, the hotspots and trends in fashion design research.

In this study, CiteSpace technology is adopted to analyze all collected literature data. CiteSpace, developed by Professor Chaomei Chen, an internationally renowned expert in information visualization at Drexel University, USA (Wang & Lu, 2020 ), refers to a Java application to visually analyze literature and co-citation networks (Chen, 2004 ). CiteSpace is capable of displaying burst detection, mediated centrality and heterogeneous networks regarding literate information. Visual analysis of the literature by using CiteSpace covers three functions, i.e., to identify the nature of specialized research frontiers, to label and cluster specialized research areas, as well as to identify the research trends and abrupt changes based on the data derived from the analysis. CiteSpace provides a valuable, timely, reproducible and flexible method to track the development of research trends and identify vital evidence (Chen et al., 2012 ).

To analyze the existing status of research and publications on the topic of “fashion design” in academia and different nations, the “Web of Science” (WOS) database is adopted as the data collection source here. Web of Science provides seamless access to existing and multidisciplinary information from approximately 8700 of the most extensively researched, prestigious and high-impact research journals worldwide, covering Science Citation Index (SCI) Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), as well as Arts and Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) (Wouters 2006 ). Its vital feature is that it covers all article types, e.g., author information, institutional addresses, citations and References (Wouters 2006 ). Research trends and publications in specific industry areas can be effectively analyzed.

To be specific, the “Web of Science Core Collection” database is selected in Web of Science and the indexing range includes SCI, SSCI, A&HCI, CPCI-S, CPCI-SSH, BKCI-S, BKCI-SSH, ESCI databases. This step aims to expand the search scope of journals and search a maximal amount of relevant literature. A “subject search” is adopted, covering the search title, the abstract, the author and the keywords. There have been other areas of research on clothing or textiles (e.g., textile engineering and other scientific research areas). However, in this study, to ensure that the topic of analysis is relevant, the subject search is conducted by entering “fashion design” or “Costume design” clothing design”, or “Apparel design”, and only academic research regarding fashion design is analyzed. To ensure the academic nature of the collected data, the search scope here is the “article” type. The time frame was chosen from 2000 to 2021 to analyze the publications on “fashion design” for past 21 years. After this operation, the results of the search were filtered two times. The search was conducted until September 23, 2021, and 1388 articles were retained on the whole.

All bibliographic information on the pages was exported into text format and subsequently analyzed with CiteSpace software. Retrieved publications were filtered and copies were removed in CiteSpace to ensure that the respective article is unique and unduplicated in the database. 1388 articles filtered down from 2000 to 2021 were analyzed in all time slices of 1 year, and most of the cited or TOP 50 of the respective item were selected from each slice.

Results and Discussion

Publications in the last 21 years.

The publication situation of WOS database with “fashion design” as the theme from 2000 to 2021 shown in Fig.  1 . On the whole, the number of articles published on the theme of “fashion design” is rising from 2000 to 2007, the number of articles published each year is almost identical, and the number of articles published in 2008–2009 is slightly increasing. The second wave of growth is in 2011, with an increase about 60% compared with the number of publications in 2010, and it has been rising year by year. 2017 is the peak year with a high volume of 171 publications. 2018 shows another decline, whereas over 100 publications remain. 2018, 2019 and 2020 show continuous growths again. As of September 2021, the number of publications in 2021 is 77. Although the number of articles declines in 2018, the overall number of articles over the past 2 decades is still rising. The reason for the low number of publications around year of 2000 is that fashion as a category of discourse has aroused the attention of scholars from the late nineteenth century (Kim, 1998 ). The year-on-year increase is explained as research on fashion is arousing rising attention from scholars. The significant increase in research papers regarding “fashion design” in 2016 and 2017 is that around 2016, and the fashion industry has been impacted by technological developments. Moreover, the way in which design and clothing made has incorporated considerable technological tools (e.g., 3D printing and wearable technology).

Total publications and sum of times cited from 2000 to 2021 according to the web of science. Data updated to September 2021

Author co-authorship analysis

The knowledge map of cited authors based on publication references can present information regarding influential research groups and potential collaborators (Liang, Li, Zhao, et al., 2017 ). The function of co-authorship analysis is employed in CiteSpace to detect influential research groups and potential collaborators. Citespace can calculate the most productive authors in related fields. Table 1 shows that the most productive authors, which related with fashion design theme.

The author with the maximal number of publications is Olga Gurova from Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki (Finland). Her research area has focused on consumer nationalism and patriotism, identity politics and fashion, critical approach to sustainability and wearable technology and the future. Sustainable design has been a hotspot over the past decade and continues to be discussed today, and wearable technology has been a research hotpot in recent years. Olga Gurova is in first place, thereby suggesting the attention given to the mentioned topics and studies in society and fashion area. The second ranked author is Marilyn Delong from University of Minnesota (The USA). The research area consists of Aesthetics, Sustainable apparel design, History and Material Culture, Fashion Trends, Cross-cultural Influence on Design, as well as Socio-psychological aspects of Clothing. The author with the identical number of 7 publications is Kirsi Niinimäki from Aalto University (Finland). Her research directions consist of sustainable fashion and textiles, so her focus has been on the connection between design, manufacturing systems, business models and consumption habits.

For Caroline Kipp, her research area includes modern and contemporary textile arts, decorative arts and craft, craftivism, jacquard weaving, French kashmere shawls, as well as color field painting. For Nick Rees-Roberts, his research area includes fashion film, culture and digital media. Veronica Manlow from Brooklyn College in the Koppelman School of Business (USA.) The research field consists of creative process of fashion design, organizational culture and leadership in corporate fashion brands. Kevin Almond has made a contribution to creative Pattern Cutting, Clothing/Fashion Dichotomies, Sculptural Thinking in Fashion, Fashion as Masquerade. Hazel Clark, and his research field covers fashion theory and history, fashion in China, fashion and everyday life, fashion politics and sustainment. As revealed from the organization of the authors' work institutions and nations in the table, most of the nations with the maximal frequency of publications originate from the US, thereby revealing that the US significantly supports fashion design research. In general, the research scope covers fashion design, culture, mass media, craft, marketing, humanities, technology and etc. Based on the statistics of authorship collaboration, this study indicates that scholars from the US and Finland take up the top positions in the authorship publication ranking.

Moreover, Fig.  2 shows the academic collaborations among authors, which are generated by selecting the unit of analysis, setting the appropriate thresholds. The distance between the nodes and the thickness of the links denote the level of cooperation among authors (Chen & Liu, 2020 ). The influential scholars and the most active authors have not yet developed a linear relationship with each other, and collaborative networks have been lacked. It is therefore revealed that the respective researcher forms his or her own establishment in his or her own field, whereas seldom forms collaborative relationships. Thus, this study argues that to improve the breadth and depth of the field of fashion design research, the cooperation and connections between authors should be strengthened (e.g., organizing international collaborative workshops, joint publications and academic conferences) to up-regulate the amount of knowledge output and create more possibilities for fashion research.

Author collaboration network

Institution co-authorship analysis

The number of articles issued by the respective institution and the partnership network are listed in Table 2 .

Figure  3 shows the collaborative relationships among research institutions, while the distance between nodes and the thickness of links represents the level of collaborative institutions. The size of the nodes represents the number of papers published by the institutions, while the distance between the nodes and the thickness of the links indicates the level of cooperation between the institutions.

Co-relationships between nations in “fashion design” research

As indicated from the Table 2 , most of the top ten publishing institutions are from the UK and the US, and two universities in the UK rank first and second with more than 20 publications, and most of the institutions are from the UK, thereby demonstrating that the UK's achievements and effect in the field of fashion are far more than other nations. According to the cooperation network between institutions, there are 5 main cooperation networks. First, London College of Fashion, achieving the most number of articles, and there are 8 institutions cooperating with London College of Fashion, among which the closest cooperation is with Parsons Paris Sch Art & Design in the US, whose more influential areas of articles are consumers behavior, unisex clothing, third gender, communicating sustainability, real installation, Italian fashion system, global market, local culture, knitwear and textile design, international scenario, conventional craft methodologies, innovative potential, as well as 3D software application.

The second network of partnerships concentrates on University Arts London as the central node, with frequent collaborators (e.g., Center St Martins Coll Art & Design, Loughborough University Technology, Hut Grp, Sothebys Inst Art, Project Mobile Ising Sexual Hlth, De Montfort University, University of Southampton, Royal Soc Arts, Royal Coll Art). The more influential areas of publication are: electric corset, future histories, clothing sustainability, south Asian youth culture, textile patterning technique, hybrid functional clothing, UK fashion upcycling businesses, rematerializing crafting understanding, fashion designers apprentice, design ethnography approach, developing apparel design guideline and so on.

The third collaborative network is formed by Aalto University, DongHua University, University Southern Denmark, and other institutions, with more influential publications below: haring clothe; fashion designer; Chinese ethnic minority; design recipe; clothing carbohydrate binge; training design researcher; fashion design; traditional handicraft, etc.

The fourth cooperation network consists of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Ryerson University, Queensland University of Technology, Tsinghua University, York University, Art Comm China Fashion Associate, and other institutions. The influential publications areas are: Zhongshan suit; creative application; clothing design; Chinese male; medical moment; menswear design preference; cross-national study; aesthetic aspect; evaluative criteria; disease prevention.

The fifth network organized by University Minnesota Sch Design, Seoul Natl University, Cornell University, University Calif Davis, University North Carolina Greensboro, Colorado State University and others, with the influential research areas if sustainable apparel design practice, sustainable clothing, female users’ perspective, up-cycling design process; apparel design education; strategic ambiguity effective instructional tool, as well as apparel design.

It is noteworthy that: (1) although the University of Leeds has the maximal number of papers, it has not formed a collaborative network with the University of Leeds in the analysis of collaborative relationships; UK institutions have achieved prominent research results, but in the analysis of the number of author papers, and most of the authors with more papers originate from the US. In brief, British institutions, especially university institutions, generally achieve a high level of research, whereas there are fewer authors with a particularly high number of publications. (2) Asian culture covering South Asian youth culture and Chinese fashion culture appear 3 times in the research network as one of the important research areas that combine fashion and culture. (3) Moreover, the respective sub-network has exchanges and cooperation with universities or institutions from other nations, whereas the distance between the sub-networks is long. It indicates that the self-networks have not yet formed a unified network structure among each other, and are only active within their own groups. The issuing institutions that enter the top ten are nearly universities, which acts as the main power of academic articles punishment, and few other institutions (e.g., companies or social organizations). Accordingly, the cooperation between institutions should be boosted. It is necessary to exploit their strengths and advantages, expand the research field and research scope, and make more contributions to the research on “fashion design” topic.

Country co-authorship analysis

Table 3 lists the studies status on “fashion design” in different nations. The US has the maximal number of publications with 257 articles, followed by the UK with 226 articles.

Figure  4 shows the co-relationships between differently nations. The nodes in the Fig.  4 represent nations, and their sizes indicate the number of articles from different nations. The distance between the nodes and the thickness of the links represents the level of cooperation between nations. The purple rings of the purple nodes indicate high centrality, which means that the mentioned nodes are key points connecting different parts of the network. The thicker the purple ring, the higher the centrality of that node. With the U.S. as the centrality degree, it links France, Lebanon, Scotland, Nigeria, Italy, Ireland, South Korea, Thailand, England, the People’s Republic of China, Sweden, Turkey, Canada, Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Australia, 17 nations in total. With the U.S. as the centrality degree, it links France, Italy, Brazil, Scotland, Denmark, Thailand, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, Sweden, Wales, the People’s Republic of China, North Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Egypt, America, a total of 22 nations are linked. Although the previous information on the volume of publications by institutions shows that institutions in the UK nations are dominant. However, the total volume of publications compared, the US is higher than the UK, thereby demonstrating that some other institutions or organizations besides universities also contribute to the volume of publications. Furthermore, as revealed from the degree of crossover of the cooperation network in Fig.  5 , except for the UK and the US, there is but not close cooperation and connection between other nations, the nodes are far away, and the more prominent node centers are the US and the UK. This leads to the conclusion that nations should strengthen the intensity and density of cooperation and enhance their influence in fashion design research.

Linking relationships between nations

Cited references network among the literature

As indicated from the analysis of the previous network of authors, collaborating institutions and collaborating nations, the research results are more superior in the US and the UK. However, given the research statistics issued by WOW Travel in 2019, the top 10 influential nations in the field of fashion consist of the USA, the UK, Italy, France, Japan, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the People' Republic of China, including Korea. This phenomenon is likely to be attributed to the different language systems of nations other than the UK and the US, and that some of the mentioned nations have their own search databases for articles. For this reason, the publication data are not retrieved. Other nations should actively publish in English or international academic journals to expand their effect on the international research field, not only in fashion trends or arts work creation.

Co-scholar study based on cited references

The literature can be termed a knowledge base, as well as a source of knowledge and ideas. A novel research cannot be outputted without the contribution of knowledge from previous authors, as well as the insights into and mastery of the literature. Co-scholar analysis builds a literature co-citation network by selecting several representative studies as the object of analysis. Vital references in a specific research area can be detected, and a knowledge graph of cited authors by complying with published references can present information regarding influential research field and knowledge. Table 4 shows the most distribution of the references in fashion design theme. Figure  5 is an analysis of the highly cited literature network. Describe and summarize the high-cited literature based on the information in the two charts.

The node density is 0.00313 for cited reference network, thereby illustrating that fewer links and co-citations among the literature. For the citation status of the respective literature, the analysis begins with the work of Fletcher Kate, appearing more frequently in the table, Fletcher Kate’s 2016 book “ Craft of use: post-growth fashion ” pertains to label 0 “fashion system”. The book explores “craft of use”, using ingenious ideas and practices to make garments/fabrics present as an alternative, dynamic, experiential framework for articulating and promoting sustainability in the fashion world (Fletcher, 2016 ). Fletcher, 2012 and Fletcher and Tham, 2014 pertain to the identical cluster 6. Fletcher Kate’s 2012 “ Fashion Sustainability ” counting 12 times, with ranking No.1 in Table 4 . The book’s contents about fashion sustainability in three main parts, i.e., fashion products, fashion system, as well as fashion design practice (Fletcher, 2012 ). According to the graph, Fletcher Kate's book exhibits a high frequency in the citation network and overall citation. The book from Fletcher ( 2008 ) talking about sustainable fashion and clothing, which has the second maximal citation, frequency of 9. The book is primarily concerned with sustainable fashion and sustainable design. Routledge handbook of sustainability and fashion, published in 2014. The major contents focus on sustainability, and fashion recognizes the complexity of aligning fashion with sustainability. It explores fashion and sustainability at the levels of products, processes and paradigms, while employing a truly multi-disciplinary approach to critically question and suggest creative responses to issues, i.e., Fashion in a post-growth society, Fashion, diversity and equity, Fashion, fluidity and balance across natural, social and economic systems, social sciences, arts and humanities interested in sustainability and fashion (Fletcher and Tham, 2014 ). Fletcher Kate made prominent contributions to fashion sustainable design and sustainable development.

The third most frequently cited book is Manzini’s ( 2015 ) book " Design, When Everybody Designs ", with eight citations. It presents Design and social Innovation, Collaborative organizations and encounters, Design ways and Design for novel cultures (Manzini, 2015 ). The ideas of social innovation design and sustainable design are presented.

The journal of “You are what you wear: How plus-size fashion figures in fat identity formation” from Lauren Downing Peters, takes up the third place in terms of frequency of citations. The research regarding fat identities are formed through the intimate practices of self-fashioning and via social channels (e.g., shopping and fashion blogging), thereby bridging the fields of fat studies and fashion studies. It also considers issues of performativity and is reflected as a situated bodily practice. Fashion design is combined with humanistic care (Peters, 2014 ).

The book Fashion and Culture: Cultural Studies, Fashion Studies, from SB Kaiser, 2012 be cited 7 times. The main topic is the integration of fashion, design and culture (Kaiser, 2012 ). Jenss ( 2016 ), Fashion Studies: Research Methods, Sites, and Practices , is cited 6 times. The book explores fashion in wide-ranging contexts by stressing material culture and ethnographic approaches in fashion studies. Ryan ( 2014 ), Garments of Paradise: Wearable Discourse in the Digital Age, research about the wearable fashion based on the new era (Ryan, 2014 ). Fashion design industry impressions of current sustainable practices , 2014, Noël Palomo-Lovinski, the article explores professional fashion designers' understanding and awareness of current sustainable design (Palomo-Lovinski & Hahn, 2014 ).

As revealed from the analysis of the co-cited literature, the literature and research areas arousing more attention in the fashion design area from 2009 to 2016 consist of fashion sustainable design and sustainable development, fashion humanities, fashion design strategies, wearable technology, fashion and culture, and Chinese fashion.

Co-occurrence analysis for the research frontier and trends

Hot research topics.

A research hotspot refers to a research issue or topic explored by a relatively large number of articles that are intrinsically linked within a certain period. The keywords are the authors' high distillation and summary of the core content of the article, reflecting the research value and direction of the article. Keywords achieving high frequency are generally exploited to identify the hot issues in a research field. The noun phrases extracted from the article can also represent the hotspot of research in a particular field to a certain extent. Clustering analysis of keywords is performed by CiteSpace software to generate keyword clustering knowledge graphs (Hu et al., 2019 ). The mentioned clusters reflect the last 21 years of topics in fashion design research (shown in Fig.  6 ).

Co-citation clusters about “fashion design” theme

The silhouette scores of the major cluster that were focused on in the review were sufficiently high. Analyzing the size of clusters by Silhouette and size, and the cluster labels could be defined by log-likelihood ratio (LLR) to explain the term contained in. The top 10 keywords in the respective cluster are summarized in the Table 5 .

As indicated from the analysis of the keywords in the respective cluster, the research content of the respective cluster overlaps with each other. However, international research in the “fashion design” field can be summarized as eight major research fields: “Skill/Tools/Technologies/Material with fashion innovation”, “Wearing class and Art”, “Sustainable fashion”, “fashion design/ fashion designer and arts work”,” Education”, “fashion industry and business”, “fashion with culture”, “Medical fashion”.

(1) Skill/ Technologies/Materials with fashion design innovation. The common label that appears are: Wearable new materialism; technological innovation, wearable technologies, future mode, digital exploration, digital design, technological innovation, smart material systems. Promoted by the rapid development of society and science and technology, interdisciplinary learning and research has also emerged in the fashion industry. Innovative design, fabric innovation or innovative display combined with high-tech, novel materials and virtual or digital industries turns out to be a novel topic of great interest in the fashion industry (Barati, Karana, & Hekkert, 2019 ; Burns, 2022 ; Bower & Sturman, 2015 ; Chuah, Rauschnabel, Krey, et al., 2016 ; Feng, 2020 ; Ferrara, 2019 ; Huang, Tang, Liu, et al., 2018 ; Juhlin, 2015 ; Rocamora, 2017 ; Smelik, 2018 ; Smelik et al., 2016 ; Ünay & Zehir, 2012 ).

(2) Wearing culture and Arts. The common labels consist of dressing strategies, transgender fashion, men fashion, human right, accessorizing bodyscape, popular art, applied art. It focuses on different types of people, human rights and humanistic concerns, including unisex fashion. The collection is designed and worn with a mix of different arts, cultures and trends, as well as regional dress cultures, such as Chinese. The collection is inclusive of fashion and highly integrated with art (Chance, Camilleri, Winstone, et al., 2016 ; Geczy & Karaminas, 2011 ; Hancock, Johnson-Woods, & Karaminas, 2013 ; Martin, 1999 ; Mocenco, Olaru, Popescu, et al., 2016 ; Nelson & Hwang, 2019 ; Sabine Linke, 2013 ; Tullio-Pow, Yaworski, & Kincaid, 2021 ; Vainshtein, 2012 ).

(3) Sustainable fashion. Including the labels of sustainability knowledge, sustainable fashion, sustainable practice, communicating sustainability, sustainability knowledge, sustainable consumption, etc. Sustainable development and sustainability are a hotspot of discussion in academia. Sustainable fashion, i.e., Eco-fashion, refers to part of a growing design philosophy and sustainable design trend aiming to create a sustainable system capable of supporting environmental, socially responsible and sociocultural aspects (Aakko & Koskennurmi-Sivonen, 2013 ; De Brito, Carbone, & Blanquart, 2008 ; Fletcher, 2013 ; Gordon & Hill, 2015 ; Gwilt, 2020 ; Henninger, Alevizou, & Oates, 2016 ; Lundblad & Davies, 2016 ; Mukendi, Davies, Glozer, & McDonagh, 2020 ; Niinimäki, 2013 ; Shen, 2014 ; Wang & Lu, 2020 ).

(4) Fashion design, fashion designer and arts work. As the fundamental topic in fashion design field, the labels consist of design strategies, young fashion designer, costume design, South Korean contemporary fashion design, China fashion design, etc. Is the research about the characteristics of fashion in different historical stages, region, area, culture and style study (Bugg, 2009 ; Chang & Lee, 2021 ; Creigh-Tyte, 2005 ; Kawamura, 2004 ; Kim & Farrell-Beck, 2005 ; Larner & Molloy, 2009 ; Ling et al., 2016 ; Millspaugh & Kent, 2016 ; Park, 1993 ; Sterlacci, 2019 ).

(5) Education. Responsible fashion business education, teaching system, fashion design course, interactive teaching, fashion entrepreneurship education, etc. Educational methods have constantly been a vital topic required to be discussed, and teaching methods and concepts have been reformed and innovated to respond to social and economic development, as well as to the constant innovation of knowledge, skills and cultural heritage (Armstrong & LeHew, 2013 ; Faerm, 2012 ; Fletcher, 2013 ; Lee & Sohn, 2011 ; Stensaker, 2007 ).

(6) Fashion industry and business. In modern commodity society, the concept of fashion is more than a way of life and an inner state of mind. People's pursuit of fashion will change the existing mode of life and behavior, thereby constantly creating new demands. Accordingly, the emergence of new products is promoted, as well as the development of novel industries. Fashion products are not only characterized by commercial products, but also help create a fashion industry chain and huge economic benefits for its high added value, easy dissemination and wide circulation (Guercini & Runfola, 2010 ; Pal & Gander, 2018 ; Pedersen, Gwozdz, & Hvass, 2018 ; Şen, 2008 ; Shamsuzzoha, Kankaanpaa, Carneiro, et al., 2013 ; Todeschini, Cortimiglia, Callegaro-de-Menezes, & Ghezzi, 2017 ).

(7) Fashion with culture. The labels include cultural heritage, traditional craft methodologies, new vision, cultural identity, cultural knowledge, etc. Understanding the effect of culture on the fashion industry and design creation gives insight into the style of fashion people want. For the identical reason, fashion impacts the way we live. Fashion is impacted by changes in culture (e.g., modernization, art, and even innovative technology). It is noteworthy that fashion is created by people living in different cultures and places. If one wants to understand fashion, one should be aware of the cultures of different places (e.g., traditional cultures, cultural heritage, new cultural contexts, and cross-cultural exchanges) (Fillin-Yeh, 2001 ; Jansen, 2014 ; Ko & Lee, 2011 ; Roche, 1996 ; Rocamora, 2017 ; Woodside & Ko, 2013 ; Zou and Joneurairatana, 2020a , b ).

(8) Medical fashion, the labels (e.g., mask making, world view, disease prevention, wearable development and fashioning masks). The medical area fashion is listed as a separate field because of the specificity and timing of this field. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, the concern for health and disease worldwide has become an essential topic, and almost every research area has a connection with medical care, as impacted by such a general trend and environment, led to developments in the field of “medical care fashion” (e.g., the development of new materials, masks and protective fashion). In addition, due to the development of “human centred design” thinking, the current fashion industry not only pays attention to the creation of artistic works, but also pays more attention to humanistic care. The needs of special groups have also attracted the attention of the fashion industry, such as disabled people, etc. (Kim, et al., 2021 ; Koenig & Carnes, 1999 ; Li & Yim, 2021 ).

Keywords with the strongest citation bursts

Keywords with the strongest citation Bursts can be exploited to reflect the main research content of a research topic over time, and also to reflect the research trends in a certain time period. The tracking and identification of research trends can offer researchers information regarding the changes in research hotspots in the field of specialization, and can provide relevant inspiration and information for researchers in the field. Research frontiers are emerging theoretical trends and new topics that can be synthesized and judged in CiteSpace based on analysis of keywords with the strongest citation bursts (Li & Wang, 2018 ).

After running the CiteSpace software, 13 keywords with maximal citation bursts were obtained (shown in Fig.  7 ).

Top 13 keywords with the strongest citation bursts in “fashion design” area

In this study, the research scope is selected from 2000 to 2021, and the strongest citation bursts are concentrated after 2010. The mentioned consist of identity, culture, fashion trend, popular culture, design process, education, design practice, craft, etc. Moreover, the analysis of the strongest citation bursts complies with the following noteworthy points:

The topic of sustainable fashion has burst on the scene three times over the last decade, i.e., in 2015 for “sustainable design”, in 2015 for “sustainability”, as well as in 2018 for “sustainable fashion”. The evolution of sustainable fashion can be identified in the shift from “sustainable production” to “sustainable fashion” concepts. In the wake of the world's biggest ever garment industry disaster, the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, having caused death of over 1100 people (Rahman, 2014 ) the fashion movement by complying with the concept of “sustainability” is fading massively, which reveals an increased interest in sustainable fashion and ethical practices in the fashion industry (Westervelt, 2015 ). As sustainability turns out to be a “megatrend” (Mittelstaedt, Shultz, Kilbourne, et al., 2014 ), the fashion field has changed dramatically in accordance with the concept of “sustainable fashion” (e.g., sustainable design, fabrics, production and consumption) (Watson & Yan, 2013 ; Mora et al., 2014 ). Moreover, today sustainable fashion refers to a movement and process facilitating the transformation of fashion products and fashion systems towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. Sustainable fashion is not only concerned with fashion textiles or products, but concerned with the dependent social, cultural, ecological and financial systems correlated with people.

Research rends and frontier on fashion design

The identification and tracking of research frontiers present researchers with the latest developments in the disciplinary research evolution, predicts the trends in the research field, and identifies issues required to be explored more specifically. Research frontier topics are novel topics of interest in the field, indicating the social environment and research context. In brief, it can be referenced for relevant researchers in this field.

After CiteSpace is run, keyword timing profiles are generated by time segment based on Cluster co-occurrence analysis (shown in Fig.  8 ).

Time zone view in fashion design research

From the time zone view, the research in fashion design can fall into four phrases. The first phrase is that the research situation before 2004 did not form a cluster, thereby indicating that the research on fashion design was scattered before 2004. The second phrase is from 2004 to 2010, thereby revealing that the term of “international modernism” appeared twice. It can be explained by the frequent cross-cultural exchange activities between nations. The research emphasis shifts from fashion research in the traditional sense (e.g., apparel characteristics, designer and design styles) to cross-cultural and regionally fashion culture research (e.g., China, Europe, and the US). The third phase is from 2011 to 2017, more clusters appear in this time period, thereby demonstrating a higher volume of articles published. The research topics in fashion design show a diversity of clusters keywords and a wider range of research directions (e.g., culture, regional fashion, traditional apparel, humanities, education, design approaches and techniques). The fourth stage is from 2017 to the present, the keywords of clusters are more obvious, especially the label around 2017: “wearable technologies”. The mentioned keywords include wearable technology, wearable devices, fashion technology, smart wear, and technology socks. This novel technology is “skin electronics” or “fashion electronics”, which are intelligent electronic devices worn near or on the skin surface to detect, analyze and transmit information regarding the body information, body signals, vital signs or environmental data and others; in several cases, the information can be delivered to the wearer (Chuah, Rauschnabel, Krey, et al., 2016 ; Çiçek, 2015 ; Farrington, 2016 ). The second label is “Transgender Fashion”, unisex fashion, embodies the humanistic nature of fashion. Moreover, the label in 2021 is concerned with “Medical Moment”. With the global outbreak of Covid-19, how to against the virus is the daily topic be concerned by global. Protective clothing, mask has become a necessity in people's lives. Based on this context, the fashion industry has also been affected. The fashion industry think more about the care and needs of the human body, “Medical fashion” has become a popular topic of research. As indicated from the academic view, the research direction of fashion design is closer to the society hot trends and interdisciplinary research. Caring for people's physical, physiological and psychological aspects, fashion research tends to be more human centred design.

Conclusions

By analyzing the frontiers and trends of fashion design research, this study reveals that at the beginning of the research period, the topics of academic research were biased towards research in the humanities (e.g., fashion design, designers, culture, humanistic care, locality, as well as arts work). The direction of research over the past few years has been impacted by the overall global dynamics as well as technological and economic development, thereby demonstrating that the trend of interdisciplinary and cross-border cooperation has entered a stage of development in recent years. The data collection and analysis time of this article is at the end of 2021, but with the development of time and science and technology, such as Digital fashion, Virtual fashion, AI design, Inclusive design, etc. have also become hot topics at the moment. The researcher believe it will produce more academic research in fashion design in the future time.

On the whole, research on the topic of fashion design still has a considerable scope for research. Scholars, designers and practitioners in the fashion field still face huge task. Accordingly, the researcher proposed several suggestions for how to strengthen the process and results of academic research. From a horizontal perspective, (1) the international academic community and researchers should enhance the interact, discuss and conduct collaborative research with each other to provide sustainable vitality and motivation for the research; (2) transnational, cross-unit and cross-border academic exchange and cooperation should be enhanced to create more possibilities for academic research; (3) additional, multilingual journal platforms should be offered for fashion or art fields. From vertical perspective: Combining or contrasting history with modernity. For instance, using new technologies to redesign or study historical apparel, etc. By combining traditional culture with modern technology, the scope of the time-line of fashion design research can be extended.

This study uses quantitative literature analysis to convey information from the literature by creating images, diagrams and information description. The existing state of research in fashion design is reviewed, and provide the knowledge base, the existing state of research, as well as research hot-spots and publication trends in fashion design research. This study can provide existing literature, knowledge map, new inspirations, and research directions to fashion practitioners, researchers, and research institutions. Based on this paper, scholars can efficiently familiarize the field knowledge and facilitate strategic adjustments by relevant institutions.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets supporting the research process and conclusions of this article are included within the additional files. For databases and research results, which is available and has no restrictions to its use by academics or non-academics.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Design Science and Art Research Center from Guangdong University of Technology, for providing the research facilities and environment for this study.

Author Information

YZ: Postdoctor, School of Art and Design, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510062, China.

SP: Lecturer and Ph.D., Ph.D in Culture-based Design Arts Program, Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn Univeristy, Bangkok 10170, Thailand.

TS: Postdoctor, College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.

D-BL: Professor and Ph.D., School of Art and Design, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510062, China.

This research was received financial support from “Science and Technology Program of Guangdong Province: Overseas Famous Master Project” Guangdong province, China. The Project No. is 2020A1414010314.

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School of Art and Design, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510062, China

Yixin Zou & Ding-Bang Luh

Culture-Based Design Arts Program, Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn Univeristy, Bangkok, 10170, Thailand

Sarawuth Pintong

College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

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YXZ conceived the ideas, experimental design, data analization, interpretation of the results, and drafted the manuscript of the analysis. SP and ST gave technical guidance and provided continuous support to perform the experiment successfully,and gave the suggestions about the writing. DBL contributed to the interpretation of the results and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Zou, Y., Pintong, S., Shen, T. et al. Evaluation and trend of fashion design research: visualization analysis based on CiteSpace. Fash Text 9 , 45 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-022-00316-6

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Received : 07 January 2022

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Published : 25 December 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-022-00316-6

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Trinidad and Tobago designer wins fashion award in Cuba

In an evening filled with creativity and style, 16 young Caribbean designers showcased their fashion collections at the Fashion in da House fashion show, held at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba.

The event was organised as part of the European Month in Cuba by Unesco, under the programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity. This initiative, funded by the European Union, aims to boost the Cultural and Creative Industries in the region, said a media release.

Trinidad and Tobago designer Naballah Chi was among the finalists and winners of the fashion design contest, Made in the Caribbean, captivated the audience with their innovative creations. Hailing from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Guyana, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, these talented youngsters demonstrated the richness and diversity of Caribbean fashion, the release said.

Anne Lemaistre, director of the Unesco regional office in Havana, in her opening remarks said, "By supporting young designers and promoting the local industry, events like Fashion in da House can foster economic growth, from more ethical and responsible practices to contribute to the sustainability and well-being of the Caribbean."

Designers Rhea Cummins Jordan from Barbados, and Naballah Chi from TT, clinched the Transcultura Awards for Best Fashion Design Collections.

Karen De Freitas, from St Vincent and the Grenadines, got the special mention.

The jury was composed of Omoyemi Akerele, Nigeria, founder and chief executive officer of Lagos Fashion Week; Meta Štular, Slovenia, director of Rog Centre; Javier Fernández Poyo, Spain, innovation expert, and Carmen Gómez Pozo, Cuba, director of registration and professional development at the National Design Office of Cuba.

Additionally, the audience members voted for their favourite collection on social media and during the show, for Genesis Vazquez from the Dominican Republic to win the Transcultura People’s Choice Award. The winners will be awarded with a two-month artistic residency at the Rog Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in the summer of 2024, as part of the Transcultura Awards, the release said.

Chi said, "Winning this award, representing TT, is very important to me as I feel recognised for my work and designs. I am very grateful for this opportunity, because with Transcultura, Unesco and the European Union are supporting young fashion designers to develop themselves, grow their careers and their brands as Caribbean designers."

The catwalk show is part of a programme of professional support activities that include workshops, advice, keynote lectures and familiarisation with business models in the fashion sector. The goal is to professionalise the cultural and creative industries so that young talent can develop locally.

Caribbean designers who participated in the runway show are:

Abigail Mitchell – Saint Lucia

Anita Frazer – Jamaica

Dayana Valdés Cureau – Cuba

Genesis Vasquez – Dominican Republic

Ivanis Agustín – Cuba

Karen De Freitas– St Vincent and the Grenadines

Mikayla Salmon – Jamaica

Mildred Henry – Dominican Republic

Naballah Chi – TT

Navado Dawkins – Bahamas

Nicoya Henry – Antigua and Barbuda

Pearlita J Richardson – Guyana

Ranyer Valenzuela – Dominican Republic

Rhea Cummins-Jordan – Barbados

Ronelli Requena – Belize

Taliah Wright – Bahamas

About the Transcultura programme

With financial support of 15 million euros from the European Union, Transcultura represents Unesco's most ambitious cooperation initiative in the Latin America and Caribbean region. It aims to create professional opportunities for young people in the Cultural and Creative Industries, through exchange and co-operation in the Caribbean and with the European Union. The 17 beneficiary countries of Transcultura are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenade, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and TT.

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Notations in the Arts (Seeking chapters on Theater & Performance, Film, Fashion, Design, and Video Games)

Theater plays, performance scripts, architectural drawings, musical scores, pantomimes, screenplays, dance notations, opera and ballet librettos, video game scripts—these and other similar types of artifacts and writings seem to belong to a common category, often referred to as ‘notations.’ A notation can be tentatively described as an artwork that responds to the situation of producing another artwork.

Even though notations are historically an indispensable part of most artistic practices, their aesthetic value has been subject to debate since at least the Early Modern period. This is most likely because notations typically feature a functional aspect: they are used to produce an artwork and are generally written with this potential use in mind. At the same time, some types of notations have been historically canonized as autonomous works of art and literature. Theatrical plays gained the status of literary works at the time of Elizabethan theatre; the Berlin Museum for Architectural Drawing presents its exhibits as works of graphic art; and film scripts have been published as books and in literary journals since the earliest days of cinema. Notations therefore represent at least a double interest: as artifacts providing insight into the artistic process and as artworks in their own right.

In accordance with this twofold significance, the volume Notations in the Arts seeks to investigate the term “notation” and its potential for various research fields, objects, and goals. To this end, the individual contributions explore to what extent and in what sense the concept of notation is established in the respective research fields; how the term is conceptualized within the contribution; and what is the ‘added value’ of approaching the artifacts in question as a kind of notation. The contributions address these questions from a theoretical standpoint as well as in case studies of individual artworks and artistic practices.

We are seeking chapters on notations in the following areas:

• Theater & Performance (theatre plays and performance scripts as notations);
• Film (film scripts / screenplays as notations);
• Opera (librettos as notations);
• Fashion (fashion drawings as notations);
• Design (sketches in product / industrial design as notations);
• Video Games.

Proposals in other areas are also welcome; however, we already have confirmed contributions in the following areas: music, dance, code, conceptual art, pantomime, and architecture. 

Please send an abstract of max. 500 words to: [email protected] and [email protected] by May 31st. Earlier submissions are very welcome.  Chapter drafts will be due by October 14th, 2024. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further queries. We are looking forward to receiving your proposals.

The Editors

Dr. Anna [Anouk] Luhn and Dr. Alexandra Ksenofontova are postdoctoral researchers at the Berlin Cluster of Excellence "Temporal Communities: Doing Literature in a Global Perspective".