Textile thinking in practice: Creative textile design methods as research in a circular economy

This paper presents a new analysis of practice research work exploring Textile Design for Disassembly as a design for recyclability strategy. It suggests a response to challenges relating to blends in the context of a circular textile economy. This paper highlights the potential for qualitative and creative textile design methods to produce research insights. Three textile design methods: the mood board, textile sampling, and garment prototyping, are reviewed in terms of their contribution to research. The methods are used to frame the problem space, develop a range of solutions, and test these in concepts that can materialise future fashion systems. The textile design methods are combined with information visualisation to produce insights. The approach thus makes visible some inherently tacit knowledge embedded in the textile design process. This supports a better understanding of the mechanisms for change towards sustainability at the core of design practices.