Sustainable Practices in Pattern-Making at Local Fashion Institutions: A Qualitative Study

Pattern making is one of the most important skill-based courses in fashion education, where students learn clothing construction through drafting, draping, and creating basic patterns for garment productions. Issues in fashion sustainability, such as textile waste and fast fashion, lead to this research. However, practices of sustainable innovation in local higher education institutions are still low compared to other countries. The objective of this research paper is to explore the current sustainable practices in teaching and learning pattern-making skills. A qualitative approach has been adopted to explore the current practices of teaching and learning in some local fashion institutions, and 21 fashion educators participated in semi-structured interview sessions. The results from the thematic analyses show six elements of sustainable innovation which currently being practised: minimization technique, pattern manipulation, upcycling, draping, digital learning, and innovative tools are part of the sustainable innovation practices. Keywords: Higher Education Research, Education for Sustainable Development, Innovatio

Integrating innovation in pattern making teaching and learning for higher education in fashion design

This article intends to integrate innovation into pattern making skills in fashion design education. This is align with the main goal of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) which aims to produce students who are competent, competitive, has value in marketability while continue in improving themselves with the latest skills that meet the needs of the national industry workforce. Thus, some changes need to be made for the learners to meet the change in technology, knowledge and technical needs in the industry especially in educational system, training programs and curriculum in higher education institutions. This research employed qualitative research design. The qualitative data collection utilize face-to-face interview. A semi-structured interviews protocol was developed to guide the interview sessions. 5 fashion lecturers, 5 fashion designers, 1 pattern maker and 5 fashion graduates had participated in the interview session. Based on the thematic analysis, there are six dominant factors which influence the integration of innovation into the curriculum. The findings are also evidence to support the implementation of framework for innovation integration into the existing pattern making curricula. By having the proposed framework, fashion design students can enhance their pattern making skill through the application of advanced technology, aligned with the demand of the industry