Fashion Design and Crafts: a reciprocal social relationship

Abstract

The article presents the main reflections and results of the master's research “Fashion and craft design: a reciprocal social relationship”. The study, anchored in an anthropological approach, delved into the themes of 'Fashion Design' and 'manual production' (referred to in this article as 'Craftsmanship'), conjecturing, in this relationship, reciprocal processes between cultured and popular knowledge and investing on social sustainability. Based on the social approach, applying the theory in practice, we sought to contribute with a theoretical definition for the field of Fashion Design. The theoretical investigation was applied in the practice of women's groups linked to the ModaViva/UNIVILLE Laboratory, which aim, through manual production, to generate work and income. The research highlighted social responsibility and the need for a reciprocal social relationship, between artisans and designers, in the search for a definition of identity for the artifacts produced, considering the producing agents and the historical/geographical/cultural location of this production. The main result referred to the delivery of a dissertation that evidenced the intersection between the craftsmanship of the producers and the academic knowledge of the students of the fashion course, resulting in new artifacts produced with a focus on local identity and consideration for the environment.