What is the impact of austerity on craft making and fashion design?

Call for Contributions Closing: 31-Mar-2011 The impact of recession and periods of austerity have led to changes in textile making and the skill base that supports these activities. The recent financial difficulties in the UK are resulting in an increase in craft based workshops, retail outlets stocking textile supplies and temporary shops popping up in residential areas that offer sewing machine classes and pay-by-the-hour sewing machines. Students and graduates of textile design courses are experiencing difficulties in obtaining work placements and employment in the sector. However, speaking recently Karl Lagerfeld (1) said that his work in fashion design has not been affected as he is working in a global arena where not all markets are in recession. The Crafts Council (2) reported in April 2009 that although there was a slight decrease in visitor numbers to recent contemporary craft events, there was no discernable impact on sales figures. They envisaged however a shift in the demographic of the contemporary crafts consumer. Changes in consumer attitudes and a reduction in the teaching of textile skills in schools have led to a generation with different perceptions of making. Through this second call, DUCK wishes to explore how craft making and textile design activity is affected by austerity. Submissions are invited which address one or more of the following themes: • What changes have been observed in textile craft making and/or textile design during and following periods of austerity such as financial recessions or war? • In what ways do changes brought about through periods of financial constraint perpetuate during ‘good times’? • How do textile designers and designer makers respond to changes in consumer demand and markets for their products? • In what ways do financial constraints such as increased costs for materials lead to innovation and ingenuity in craft making? • Do periods of austerity act as a catalyst for the acquisition of craft skills? Do they change the perceived value of textile design and making? • To what extent does reduced funding for textile and textile design research impact on craft makers? • How do periods of austerity impact on notions of luxury and bespoke in relation to textile products? Authors will be informed of the outcome of their submission by the end of July 2011. Submission Instructions Contributions may take the form of written texts (maximum 5,000 words), visual essays, a series of images relating to methods (sketchbook style), visual diaries or other methods deemed appropriate but must address the research question. Duck does not advise a particular format for written submissions although we ask that contributors present their ideas in an accessible format for Duck's diverse readership of researchers, educators, artists and designers. For written texts the Harvard System of referencing is preferred. Images should be 300dpi where possible, RGB format and submitted as TIFF or JPEG files. Text should be provided in MS Word (.doc), rich text (.rtf) or pdf format. Please provide your name, affiliation, email address, a title for your submission and a short summary of your contribution. Please send submissions by email to: F.E.Kane2@lboro.ac.uk (Maximum file size: 5mb) Alternatively, please send on disk (CD or DVD) to: DUCK Journal - Textiles Research Group Loughborough University School of Art and Design Loughborough Leicestershire LE11 3TU Copyright In submitting material to Duck, contributors thereby grant permission for it to be published on the Duck website. Contributors retain copyright of their material and may use it elsewhere after publication in Duck, though we would appreciate it if Duck could be acknowledged as the original source of publication. Please note that it is the responsibility of contributors to obtain the necessary permissions for reproducing work other than their own.

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