The digital shift: evolution and rapid digitisation of fashion design education during the Covid-19 pandemic

During the Covid-19 global pandemic the majority of fashion design education had been moved online due to the numerous lockdowns that disrupted university education internationally. In this research project, we explored this rapid digital shift, with a view to uncovering what it could teach us about future teaching and learning methods. It is important to investigate and critically assess the evolution and rapid digitalisation of fashion education as it marks a shift away from the physical product and promotes new ways of making and teaching fashion. Through a mixed methodology, this paper provides an insight into the digital shift in fashion design education internationally and the new modalities it unfolds. We designed and facilitated an online interactive workshop with fashion educators from 6 different countries and created a survey to compare students' experiences with that of their educators. Data analysis revealed the shift from practical making skills and product focus, towards more digital and/or sustainable outcomes as evidence of fashion students’ design competencies, as well as significant changes to the curriculum, students’ deliverables, which stresses the importance of digital literacy in fashion design education. Moreover, it highlights the need for cross-institutional critical reflexivity in fashion pedagogy.