Fashion education in Sri Lanka: the nexus between formal and informal education

For the past 15 years, the Sri Lankan apparel industry has been upgrading from apparel assembly to providing design and product development services. The country's fashion education developed in response to the industry's need for design professionals. The purpose of this study is to explo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of fashion design, technology and education technology and education, 2019-01, Vol.12 (1), p.23-34
Main Authors: Gopura, Sumith, Payne, Alice, Bandara, Deepthi C., Buys, Laurie, Seneheweera, Leena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic standards
apparel industry
Assembly
Clothing industry
Design
designer
Developing countries
Economic conditions
Economic development
Economic models
Education
Fashion designers
Fashion education
Industrial development
industrial upgrading
LDCs
Product development
Professional development
Professionals
Sri Lanka
Upgrading
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Summary:For the past 15 years, the Sri Lankan apparel industry has been upgrading from apparel assembly to providing design and product development services. The country's fashion education developed in response to the industry's need for design professionals. The purpose of this study is to explore how fashion designer competencies are developed within Sri Lanka. This study adopts a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews conducted with 28 fashion and product development professionals, selected through purposive sampling. The development of fashion designer competencies within SL in this context are analysed and discussed. The study proposes a 'fashion education ecosystem' that has emerged from the nexus between formal fashion education and training and professional development within the industry, supporting the upgrading of the industry through the enhancement of designer skills. Sri Lanka, as a small country that depends heavily on the apparel industry for employment and economic development, provides a model for other developing countries seeking industrial upgrading from apparel assembly to design and product development services through the fashion education ecosystem.
ISSN:1754-3266
1754-3274
DOI:10.1080/17543266.2018.1467500