Exploring research space in fashion: A framework for meaning-making

The study of fashion comprises theories of material culture to examine the role and function of consumption practices, social interactions, and the production of cultural meanings. Material culture can be defined as a meaning-making process developed through the exchange of symbolic values embedded within fashion objects (Crane & Bovone, 2006), providing a form of connection and participation within the social world. In today’s increasingly complex and uncertain world, fashion faces new global challenges that require different ways of looking at, reviewing, and redefining the role of knowledge and its impact on designers, individuals and society. This chapter acknowledges the role and function of fashion objects in everyday life as communicating design intent and mediating the construction of new meanings to challenge existing thoughts, traditions and systems. The interdisciplinary roots of fashion studies are introduced through a research framework that focuses on the meaning-making process as a necessary step towards establishing meaningful experiences. Considering the growing discourse around the decolonization of fashion, this chapter presents a space for questioning, reflecting, and negotiating how future fashion research can be explored.