"Responding to the next generation": enabling interactive engagement to flourish in fashion design

Researching is one of the key skills that fashion designers rely on to inform their creative practice. The increased use of digital resources integrated into our physical environments is also recognised by researchers. The impact of such digital resources, on the research investigation skills of the current generation of fashion students’ entering higher education, indicates a need for more structured support surrounding student physical and digital research investigations.
This submission is presented in the form of a synopsis that aims to position three sequentially published and refereed papers and a series of funded projects from across a three year period for the award of MA by Research. The papers present findings tracking a research journey that considers the use of primary research material by millennial students on higher education programmes within the field of fashion. A series of related funded projects, aimed at supporting the fashion students’ research investigation processes, both physical and digital are aligned to the three papers. Interviews are presented exploring current thinking and practice within museums and archives, their use of primary research material and its management. The culminated findings of the three papers presented chart the establishment of an archive resource, investigations into students physical and digital research propensities and the impact of tutor intervention.