Creative Design: Professional

Hope

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Abstract

A growing number of aging homeless women are looking for shelter and struggling to construct a sense of valued life and self (Gonyea and Melekis, 2016). The design process for theHope, garment engages underprivileged women in a co-creative design experience. The goal of this collaborative involvement was to inspire and positively impact the self-confidence of these women through use of their creativity in a designed garment. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1997) enhancing creativity through exploration and discovery may consequently improve wellbeing. Specifically, Prescott et al. (2008) found a strong correlation between art making activities and life achievements of the homeless. The participants in this co-creative design experience imagined design ideas through a series of accessible creative activities. This process also builds on design research such asThe Peoples' Print, by Melanie Bowles and Emma Neuberg in which textile design utilizes participatory design to empower consumers through direct involvement in the design and making process.

How to Cite:

Lapolla, K., (2016) “Hope”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 73(1).