Turning Inspiration into Design

Turning Inspiration into Design

Scenario:

Krystal works at a small contemporary women’s apparel manufacturer. In addition to her other responsibilities, she also works with a small group of employees who research and create the trend forecasts for upcoming seasons. They are currently working on a forecast two years advance of the current season and have settled on their theme: “Turkish Delight”, a collection inspired by the history and culture of Turkey. Based on the current Zeitgeist, Krystal feels strongly that her customers, who have a bohemian aesthetic, will respond positively to a collection that references the bright colors, silk fabrics, and floral embroidery that Turkish dress is known for.

The team now needs to research Anatolian and Ottoman folk costumes and look for images of famous sites in the capitol of Istanbul, such as the Hagia Sophia museum, for inspiration for the collection’s colors, fabrics, and style. The team needs to give direction to the designers about what aspects of dress that they should incorporate in their designs and how literal their collection’s interpretations of cultural dress items like the şalvar, a pair of baggy trousers, the gömlek, a blouse, and the entari, a dress or robe, should be. Now that they have their initial inspiration, what topics do Krystal and the team need to consider as they proceed to the idea generation and design phase of their collection?

Your written responses to #1 and #2 should be submitted in a Word (or PDF) file and mood board in a PowerPoint file.

1. Research (5 points): What online resources can the team use to learn more about the theme? Include two links to online sources. Are visual images enough, or should they also learn about historic and cultural background of the traditional garments they are considering? Why?

2. Cultural Appropriation (3 points): How closely do you think Krystal and her team should interpret traditional Turkish dress- should they copy the designs as closely as possible to strive for authenticity, or should they alter designs to a degree to keep from charges of cultural appropriation?

3. Presentation: Create a mood board. Your mood board should be a collage consisting of images and key words representative of the “Turkish Delight” inspiration.

a. Use PowerPoint – 1 slide b. Must include: (1) title: “Turkish Delight”, (2) brief description or key words, and

(3) inspirational images that reflect the “Turkish Delight” theme. c. You must provide sufficient images (at least 4) that reflect the overall mood of

the theme. The quality of the images and creativity of the collage will be evaluated.

d. References (no limit): Include ALL sources (visual and text information) that you used on under ‘NOTE.’ Copy and paste the website link. Provide complete links for both images and text. See example on the next page.

References: How to cite sources in PowerPoint

Include complete links for both images and text.