The Concept of Avant-Garde as a Creative Fashion Design Trajectory in Sekondi Takoradi - Ghana

Abstract

This study seeks to project the concept of avant-garde as a viable and radical approach to instilling creativity in a fashion design practitioner through putting together different materials to represent shape and form in the ultimate sculpting of a silhouette. Even though the concept of avant-garde in fashion has existed for over a century in Europe, the Americas and parts of Asia, the concept has not caught up well in Ghana in terms of practice and application. Meanwhile, it has a great potential to engender creativity in the teaching and practice of fashion. This is because avant-garde encompasses experimental processes as well as constantly being on the edge, thinking forward and exploring new materials and design possibilities. Reflecting the times in which we are operating provides a relevance to the form of expression of the fashion designer. The qualitative research methodology was utilised in this study, with observation and interviews as the data collection instrument. The study observed selected fashion practitioners thoroughly, using their philosophies and designs as sources of data. The findings and discussion touched upon on a wide array of visualisations and trends and present avant-garde as a creative concept for fashion design practice in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. The study, therefore, recommends that fashion design students be made more aware of the essence of trying new and unfamiliar materials every now and then to enable them to be more creative. The concept of avant-garde was explored in this study because of its potential for an extended enquiry into the many trajectories of fashion product outcomes.