The portfolio of fashion design students as a tool for constructing identity

This research examines the portfolio of fashion design students, an object which involves the collection, selection and narrative of designs and projects developed during over the course of an educational or professional career. According to this thesis, the portfolio is a complex device: it is more than just a chronological sequence of different projects or a visual CV; it is a tool used to define and narrate its owner’s cultural and design identity. If the object of the research appears to be clear, less obvious is how to identify the most effective methodologies in order to reach the stated aim. How is it possible to study such a complex device? In what way can we analyse a tool which is alive, personal and unique, strongly tied to the personal approach of the designer? Can design provide the methodological instruments necessary for the research, or is it necessary to turn to other disciplines? This research makes evident the importance of investigating an object, namely the fashion portfolio, through various methodological lenses; being a complex device, on which there have been few theories produced until now, it is necessary to import tools from other disciplines and adapt them to the needs of the research. The start of the investigation was necessarily featured the mapping of the current situation in order to outline a theoretical framework with which to position the object in question; then, a fieldwork project was defined through the use of sociological and ethnographical methodologies in order to analyse the portfolio in relation to context and the subjects involved. The objective of the research is to develop a greater awareness in fashion design students, reaching their full potential and improving the well-being of each one.