Abstract:

The complexity of contemporary society is requiring more and more approaches that leverage on interdisciplinary knowledge and hybridization of methodologies and tools. This awareness is increasing in each discipline, Design is also assuming this perspective.
Within a design-driven context, the interdisciplinary approach has been extended even further by introducing digital fabrication tools and processes. The integration of digital fabrication in product development practices doesn’t impact only on manufacturing processes, but potentially affects all stages of the industry, from design to consumption. The necessity to explore potentials and limits of the technology is requiring an iterative definition of new methodologies, blurring the boarders between disciplines and performing practical and inclusive paths. This kind of approach is experienced within Fab Labs, networked and distributed laboratories equipped with a common set of digital fabrication tools supported by a global creative community, built upon knowledge sharing programs, peer to peer education, and access. The diffusion of urban collaborative spaces allowing users to prototype personal and professional solutions [1,2], are fostering the rise of new business models based on digital craftmanship, on-demand and tailored production [3], and distributed manufacturing.
Within this evolving context, the role of educational institutions should be to catch and explore innovation potentials from emerging realities, in order to train professionals capable of overseeing these new practices, being ready to cope with updated market dynamics. Through approaches driven by Project Based Learning (PBL) [4] and learning by doing, it is possible to face this complexity, breaking down challenges in circumscribed frameworks without reducing or limiting the scope of research.
In view of this analysis, the paper will present a pilot educational experience, that has been prototyped within the Master of Science Course “Design for the Fashion System” of Politecnico di Milano, which aimed at (a) training designers in understanding the impact of digital fabrication technologies in modifying and implementing fashion design practices, (b) testing the integration of knowledge and skills from different professional figures involved in the management and proposal of an interdisciplinary project, (c) evaluating the potential of digital fabrication technologies in fashion practices, by assessing their effect on product and process innovation.
In particular, the pilot has been performed as a workshop involving twelve students, and lead by a senior fashion designer, a digital fabrication expert, and a facilitator. The pilot's experience included students’ self-assessment and reflection on the process carried out, built on the model usually adopted to document hands-on activities within Fab Labs. An assessment phase conducted by the facilitator followed, in order to validate the PBL model and improve it in anticipation of being repurposed in future didactic experiences.

Keywords:

interdisciplinary education, project-based learning, fashion design process, digital fabrication