Trusting Technê: An exploration into the creative value of learning through doing

This paper takes the form of a testimonial experience reflecting on the piloting of two undergraduate projects. Students on the BA (Hons) Fashion course at Leeds Arts University, United Kingdom (UK), were required to start the design process by participating in a series of kinesthetic workshops, solely based on exploratory pattern cutting principles. Sourcing any visual inspiration or references was prohibited, thus distorting students’ preconceived notions of what constitutes a linear design system. Encouraging design ideas to emerge from creative cutting principles rather than sourced imagery aims to embed ‘technê’ (practically applied knowledge); emphasise the importance of tacit epistemologies in a pedagogical context; enhance creative impact; and instigate autonomous learning. The paper will also serve to illustrate the creative potential of eliminating visual research from the early stages of the design process