Interrogating Fashion brings together a wide-ranging group of academics, artists, designers, scientists and technologists to interrogate and challenge existing practices and processes in fashion and clothing.

Operating as a network cluster, Interrogating Fashion will identify key questions and develop research projects that will have a genuine impact on the manufacturing sector, creating new paradigms and opportunities, which will, by design, be more sustainable.

The cluster will explore research themes which span the entire spectrum of fashion creation: from inspiration and concept development, through innovative design processes and applications of emerging technologies to production (for example rapid prototyping, 3D body scanning, digital printing), presentation of fashion in a range of contexts, and audience engagement with issues raised. Although the scope and context is large, overlapping themes will focus on key areas where potential for new paradigms and technology transfer is greatest. Themes to be developed will be centred around the socio-economic issues of transience and sustainability in relation to fashion; design innovation issues in fashion processes and products; and cultural issues of creating new fashion discourse through modes of presentation, interaction and display.

The three overlapping themes are:

• Digital Fashion? from craft to mass customisation.
• Fashion in Context: presentation and display, audience and engagement.
• The Fashion Paradox: transience and sustainability.

Interrogating Fashion is led by Principal Investigator Sandy Black, Reader in Fashion and Textiles, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London and funded by EPSRC and AHRC.