Innovative Materials, Technologies & Processes | ARTD2151

Module overview

This module will introduce you to the world of innovation, from past, present and newly emerging materials, technologies and processes used in Textiles and product related lifecycles, sustainability and circularity. You will build on your knowledge and skills through investigation and experimentation of innovative solutions, alternatives and possibilities. You will critically analyse, discuss, evaluate innovation from a diverse range of market sectors and how these innovative solutions can be applied to textiles. You may even develop your own innovative idea’s to solve contemporary issues around luxury sustainability, responsibility and ethics for our future textile industry. You will learn how trends are created, followed and evolved, how they influence innovation and newness with success and failure. You will be encouraged to research, reflect and apply innovative materials, techniques and processes into your design work wherever possible and to make digital visualisations, moodboards and sketchbooks to demonstrate your research, critical thinking and idea generation about innovation applications. Throughout this module you will build your knowledge of industry pioneers, leaders and innovators from visiting guest speakers, field trips, exhibitions and conferences. You will expand your network of suppliers, manufacturers, artisans and brands and how to source, purchase, cost and use innovative resources. Alongside innovation, you will consider sustainability, ethics, integrity and responsibility around innovation. This module will support your Collaboration module providing inspirational idea’s and creative, innovative solutions alongside building on your professional development and introducing you to collaborative teamworking and project management. You will develop your communication and presentation skills within your team and towards your target audience by using innovative communication tools and techniques.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Formulate a range of ideas using relevant industry processes and methodologies.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Employ effective and informed visual methods of presentation and communication

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

Investigate and apply innovation and originality to your textile design and making practice

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

The major developments in your practice and how practitioners combine skills and technologies to innovate

Syllabus

This module aligns closely with the ‘Collaborate’ module, inspiring innovative creative original idea’s with a team of collaborators from different discipline subjects. You will build on the skills, knowledge and practice of research analysis, critical discussion, idea generation, project management, teamworking and presentation techniques you will need in the ‘Collaborate’ module. You will discover the exciting world of innovative materials, techniques, technologies and processes and how to generate idea’s to apply these innovations to create sustainable luxury textiles. You will investigate key issues and trends in the textile industry and research, source and discuss solutions for design and producing contemporary textile products for your collaboration project. You will learn about sourcing, procurement of materials and will hear from leading industry suppliers, manufacturers, brands, specialist artisans, designers and practitioners about how they find and use innovative materials in their work. You will investigate and discuss the debates around slow luxury and conscious design and how innovation is impacting the sustainability and ethical arguments and changing behaviours in positive and negative ways. You will gain insight into the seasonal trends aswell as the macro and micro market trends that will influence your collaborative project idea’s. This module will continue to build your digital competence and explore new digital tools and technologies. These digital skills will enhance and build your professional communication skills and confidence in your team presentation in the ‘Collaborative’ module.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

•Lectures •Seminars •Workshops •Guest Speakers •Group tutorials •Individual tutorials •Creative design and technical workshops •How-to video’s and resources on Bb •Research and Critical Thinking workshops •Library tour and introduction to reference sources •Digital Skills workshops, training, and practice •Field Trips •Peer group learning •Self Study

Study time
Type	Hours
Supervised time in studio/workshop	40
Independent Study	200
Teaching	60
Total study time	300

Resources & Reading list

Internet Resources

UKFT.

Common Objective - sustainable sourcing.

Technical textile resource.

Sustainable Fashion Information.

Looptworks - circular design.

Ellen Macarthur foundation - circular economy.

Redress Design Award.

Technical textile News.

Sustianable ANgle - sustainable sourcing.

Premiere Vision.

Journal Articles

Fletcher, K (2017). Exploring demand reduction through design, durability and ‘usership’ of fashion clothes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 375(2095). .

Textbooks

Gullingsrud, A. (2018). Fashion fibers : designing for sustainability..

Fashionary. Textilepedia- the complete fabric guide.

Muthu, S.S. and Rathinamoorthy, R. (2021). Bacterial cellulose : sustainable material for textiles. . Singapore: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9581-3. .

Klepp, I.G. and Tobiasson, T.S. (eds (2022). Local, slow and sustainable fashion : wool as a fabric for change. . Cham: Palgrave: Macmillan. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88300-3. .

Muthu, S.S. and Gardetti, M.A. (2020). Sustainability in the textile and apparel industries : sustainable textiles, clothing design and repurposing.

Niinimäki, K. (ed.) (2018). Sustainable fashion in a circular economy. . Espoo, Finland:: Aalto University. .

Vignali, G. et al. (eds.) (2020). Technology-driven sustainability : innovation in the fashion supply chain. . Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Gwilt, A., Payne, A. and Rüthschilling, E.A. (eds.) (2019). Global perspectives on sustainable fashion. . London, UK:: Bloomsbury Visual Arts. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350058170. .

De la Motte, H. and Ostlund, A. (eds.) (2022). Sustainable Fashion and Textile Recycling. . Basel:: MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. .

Assessment

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Coursework portfolio

Assessment Type: Formative
Feedback: You will experience verbal and written (and recorded on request) formative feedforward at regular project development stages during the module. Feedforward and feedback will be provided through team tutorials and peer review, individual tutorials and critical reviews. All formative work will be aligned with ‘Innovative Materials, Technologies and Processes’ module and the ‘Collaborate’ module, and will contribute to the summative assessment at the end of the semester.
Final Assessment: No
Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Portfolio	100%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Portfolio	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Portfolio	100%