A study into the scope for transforming traditional skills and knowledge into a competitive advantage in small scale textile industries through fashion design

• Grant number: 13/50911-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Industrial Design - Product Design
• Agreement: University of Southampton
• Principal Investigator: Cláudia Regina Garcia Vicentini
• Grantee: Cláudia Regina Garcia Vicentini
• Principal researcher abroad: John Hopkins
• Institution abroad: University of Southampton, England
• Host Institution: Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 12/23486-3 - Methodology for the development of fashion products, AP.R

Abstract

As the main focuses of this project is the textile and fashion industry, we may say consider, on the one hand, the proliferation on certain fashion brands throughout great part of the world, financed by great international capital that invest in innovation and, on the other hand, the impairment of local and traditional brands/companies. The main propose of this project is to act on the traditional knowledge of communities and/ or companies related to textile and fashion items, researching, building and innovating in economic, technological and/or updated language ways. For this matter, we may consider traditional skills and knowledge from local communities, improving and maintaining their production activities on their own, regarding the particularities of the each reality. We also intend to enable the public in the formation of products and services prices, contributing to the quality improvement of sustainable added-value products. As Jaffe & Nebenzahl propose, how a locality's image is formed and what form it takes should be of concern to government, industry and individual firms, as managing this image determines its success in selling its goods into other markets. Accordingly the project should address how the brand and country images of the company and its products are portrayed to evaluate how they are perceived in the eyes of the consumer, as the made-in label is an important cue for niche fashion products. (AU)