Proposing a Method and Framework for Investigating Creativity in Fashioning Self-Identity

Sandra Rosenkranz Jäger

doi:10.21814/vista.6193

Authors

Sandra Rosenkranz Jäger University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8836-4441

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21814/vista.6193

Keywords:

distributed creativity, qualitative tool, wardrobe method, fashion design

Abstract

In this article, a method is developed and proposed, dubbed the "Outfit of the Day Logbook", which can be used to analyze an individual's creative processes within their design context (or other). In this article, the focus is on everyday fashion activities such as getting dressed and wearing clothes through daily activities and interactions with the surrounding environment. The paper builds on ideas from theories of creativity, introducing primary theories on how creativity has been understood and how it relates to fashion design, drawing inspiration from Vlad Petre Glăveanu's (2014) theory of distributed creativity. Based on the concept of "distributed creativity", theories of the fashioned body by Joanne Entwistle (2015) and the methodology of wardrobe studies (Fletcher & Klepp, 2017), the logbook was developed for this paper. Empirical data were collected from individuals who participated in the qualitative study for which the logbook was constructed, with three case studies selected for this paper. Analyzing the respondents' answers highlights the social, emotional, and contextual elements that influence an individual's accessibility to their creative potential, which enabled the proposal of a framework of conditions that either foster or limit their use of creativity. The method serves as a qualitative research tool that can be refined, discussed, further developed, and used as interdisciplinary inspiration in other fields, such as consumer research, fashion, design, or other related practices. The focus was to formulate a proposal for a method that involves respondents in their emotional, social, and material contexts at different times in their everyday lives.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Sandra Rosenkranz Jäger, University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark

Sandra Jäger holds a bachelor of arts in Design Culture and Economics from the University of Southern Denmark, with a focus on critical fashion studies, gender studies, and sustainability. She holds a master of arts in Design Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. She is the editor-in-chief of The Critical Pulse magazine, where she also contributes as a writer, editor, illustrator, and project manager. Her broader professional experience includes work in graphic design, museum guided tours, public speaking, cohosting the Fashion Freedom Fest, and teaching.

References

Boon, W. (2014). Defining creativity. BIS Publishers.

Bundgaard, H., & Mogensen, H. O. (2018). Antropologiske projekter: En grundbog. Samfundslitteratur.

Entwistle, J. (2015). The fashioned body: Fashion, dress & modern social theory. Polity Press.

Fletcher, K., & Klepp, I. G. (2017). Opening up the wardrobe: A methods book. Novus Press.

Gaver, B., Dunne, T., & Pacenti, E. (1999). Cultural probes. Interactions, 6(1), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1145/291224.291235

Gilbert, E. (2015). Big magic: Creative living beyond fear. Riverhead.

Glăveanu, V. P. (2014). Distributed creativity: Thinking outside the vox of the creative individual. Springer.

Glăveanu, V. P., & Beghetto, R. A. (2021). Creative experience: A non-standard definition of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 33(2), 75–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2020.1827606

Glăveanu, V. P., & Kaufman, J. C. (2022). Building off creativity to move gifted to gifting. Gifted Education International, 38(3), 386–390. https://doi.org/10.1177/02614294211050149

Jennings, T. (2011). Creativity in fashion design: An inspiration workbook. Fairchild Books.

Judkins, R. (2016). The art of creative thinking. Hodder & Stoughton.

Kaufman, J. C., & Glăveanu, V. P. (2025). The products of the process: Toward exploring and expanding the benefits of being creative. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 59(1), Article e70006. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70006

Smit, I., & van der Hulst, A. (2018). Creativity takes courage: Dare to think differently. Workman Publishing.

Verger, N. B., Duymedjian, R., Wegener, C., & Glăveanu, V. P. (2024). Creative preservation: A framework of creativity in support of degrowth. Review of General Psychology, 28(3), 268–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680241256312