UniFash Reseach Publications by Fashion Designer Founder Iris Peitzmeier, PhD
May 2024
UniFash GmbH, Würzburg, Germany
In an era of technological advancement, the fashion industry faces transformative pressures, especially in Germany, known for its high-quality craftsmanship in clothing. A critical issue is the shortage of skilled labor, particularly in bespoke tailoring, where garments are custom-made to an individual’s specifications. This shortage not only threatens the quality of German fashion but also highlights a gap between academic curricula and the industry’s practical needs. The decline of vocational schools, once pillars of craft training, exacerbates this issue, risking the loss of essential skills and pushing the industry towards outsourcing.
Addressing these challenges, this paper proposes the integration of digital fashion production training into German fashion design curricula. UniFash, a digital learning platform, emerges as a solution, aiming to democratize the study of custom-made tailoring through digital and asynchronous methods. This initiative seeks to bridge the educational gap, targeting the shortage of skilled professionals and ensuring the sustained excellence of the German fashion industry.
The study combines a review of academic literature, expert interviews, and student participation to analyze the German fashion market and educational landscape. Employing a mixed-methods approach, it gathers data through documentary research, interviews, and an online survey, complemented by action research involving test students in the UniFash pilot program. This methodology provides insights into the effectiveness of the program and the broader challenges facing the industry.
Findings reveal significant obstacles, such as the skilled labor shortage and the lack of practical fashion courses in higher education. This research provides significant insights into the inclusion of digital fashion production courses in higher fashion education in Germany, showcasing UniFash as a pioneering model for cultivating craftsmanship and augmenting the competitiveness of the industry. Furthermore, it suggests that this model can effectively address the global skills shortage in craftsmanship, demonstrating a scalable and impactful approach not just limited to Germany but applicable worldwide. The courses of the pilot project have been synchronized in English and will also be available in Arabic in the future. The successful outcomes of the pilot project outlined in this paper, along with the thriving career trajectories of the participants after the one-year research program, underscore the model’s potential to revolutionize fashion education and industry practices on a global scale (Peitzmeier, 2023).
