Digital evolution in fashion education: adapting to industry shifts and enhancing pedagogy
Digital evolution in fashion education: adapting to industry shifts and enhancing pedagogy
As digital technologies reshape fashion industry practices, education is under pressure to keep pace. Slow institutional change often leads to surface-level curricular fixes,
insufficient supporting long-term graduate employability. This study explores the tension between preserving traditional disciplinary skills and integrating emerging digital competencies. It proposes a more proactive approach to aligning curricula with industry shifts, while informing pedagogy in creative research and practice. Using appreciative inquiry, we interviewed early career professionals in digital fashion roles, offering a dual perspective, insights into current practice and reflections on their recent education. Their views are contrasted with those of educators adapting to similar changes in higher education. The study reveals a lack of a cohesive framework for embedding digital fashion into curricula and presents actionable priorities, both immediate and strategic, for educators. These findings offer a reference point for developing future-ready, digitally literate fashion programmes that remain responsive to a rapidly evolving industry.
curriculum transformation, digital fashion, fashion education, future skills, sustainability
Ryan, Karen
62c26d98-dc8d-4b93-b795-3529cf31359c
Khamisani, Noorin
20a1ce31-be2e-41c0-b650-9005e5582ce2
Ryan, Karen
62c26d98-dc8d-4b93-b795-3529cf31359c
Khamisani, Noorin
20a1ce31-be2e-41c0-b650-9005e5582ce2
Ryan, Karen and Khamisani, Noorin
(2025)
Digital evolution in fashion education: adapting to industry shifts and enhancing pedagogy.
International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education.
(Submitted)
Abstract
As digital technologies reshape fashion industry practices, education is under pressure to keep pace. Slow institutional change often leads to surface-level curricular fixes,
insufficient supporting long-term graduate employability. This study explores the tension between preserving traditional disciplinary skills and integrating emerging digital competencies. It proposes a more proactive approach to aligning curricula with industry shifts, while informing pedagogy in creative research and practice. Using appreciative inquiry, we interviewed early career professionals in digital fashion roles, offering a dual perspective, insights into current practice and reflections on their recent education. Their views are contrasted with those of educators adapting to similar changes in higher education. The study reveals a lack of a cohesive framework for embedding digital fashion into curricula and presents actionable priorities, both immediate and strategic, for educators. These findings offer a reference point for developing future-ready, digitally literate fashion programmes that remain responsive to a rapidly evolving industry.
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Submitted date: 22 June 2025
Keywords:
curriculum transformation, digital fashion, fashion education, future skills, sustainability
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 503944
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503944
ISSN: 1754-3274
PURE UUID: 05398bc1-3fcb-41a2-937d-53c7c3ca7f21
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Date deposited: 18 Aug 2025 17:04
Last modified: 19 Aug 2025 02:15
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Contributors
Author:
Karen Ryan
Author:
Noorin Khamisani
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