Design & Kreativitet – och omvärldens orimliga krav

Abstract

In a time where fast trends and shorter product lifecycles are dominating the clothing industry fashion companies must constantly deliver revolutionary products in order to survive. The consumers are more demanding than ever before and collections that used to be released twice a year are almost nothing but a memory lost. Some companies are now releasing their collections continuously and have abandoned the seasons completely. Media has put attention on the speed that the fashion industry is moving in now and asks whether we can expect it to implode? The purpose of the thesis is to establish how the creative process in a company operating on the Swedish or the Danish clothing market is affected by external factors i.e. the ever decreasing life span of products and consumers becoming increasingly savvy, amongst many other factors. It also attempts to determine whether what the media is broadcasting is consistent with how designers experience the evolution of the clothing industry in this area or the world. This study is conducted using a qualitative research method with a deductive approach. Based on the theories collected empirics were formed relating to the subject. The empirics were created through qualitative interviews conducted with respondents from four different companies. The companies and the respondents have been chosen with a non-probable selection in order to obtain varied and relevant empirics. The data gathered from these interviews was then analyzed and compared to the chosen theory to ascertain patterns of similarities or dissimilarities. The drawn conclusion is that the creativity suffers on account of many different factors, for example; stress, organizational structure, freedom within the organization and sales. The worry that has been expressed in the media is justified and the workload has partly increased. The study also showed that the designers wanted to follow their own path but had to consider the consumer’s wishes and the demands of the company.