Integrating Circular Economy, Collaboration and Craft Practice in Fashion Design Education in Developing Countries: A Case from Turkey

The necessity to challenge the linear economic model of the fashion industry generated a revolution within the sector. The circular economy and the slow fashion movement have revealed that the industry cannot continue with the existing methods that threaten the world’s limited resources. This study asserts that design education can be used as an essential tool for creating an ethical fashion system when its ideology is reinforced by responsible individuals. Therefore, the objective of this article is to explore how design education can be recontextualized to generate a social change, stimulate collective production, and question the notion of novelty. It provides a comprehensive account of generating alternative ways of learning and designing, through upcycling, craft, and collaboration in developing countries. The article is composed of two key sections, which are the literature review and a case study that hinges on a design collaboration of fashion design students with a local women’s cooperative. Over a year, the participants were interviewed to observe the extent to which they incorporated the notions gained through their experience into their design practice. The results revealed a noticeable change in the students’ approaches toward material usage and design methodology.