Systemic Approach for Sustainable Fashion Design

This paper comes from research conducted through educational exper- imentation at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli,” within the Master’s degree programs in Fashion Eco Design 2 and Textile Design. It aims to explore the application of the Systemic Approach for Fashion Design, (Tamborrini, 2020) highlighting its effectiveness in tackling the environmental and social challenges of the industry. An integrated and multidisciplinary approach is essential to tackle the complex issues in the fashion industry and, the Systemic Approach emerges as a key methodology to promote sustainability and innovation through holistic systems analysis. The definition of the Systemic Approach forms the core, out- lining the concept and its growing relevance in the fashion design system. This approach aims to go beyond traditional design methodologies by focusing on the interconnectedness of system elements and the analysis of their impact on the envi- ronment and society. Systemic Design addresses complex problems by considering many interconnected parts. It combines systems thinking and its methodologies, extending the human-centred approach to complex multi-stakeholder service sys- tems. Designers face increasingly complex challenges that require approaches beyond individual creativity and traditional design methods (Jones and Kijima in Systemic Design: Theory, Methods, and Practice. CRC Press 2018). This paper emphasizes the critical importance of adopting a systems approach to design to promote sustainability, innovation, and value chain optimization within manu- facturing processes and beyond. The dissemination and adoption of responsible design approaches are encouraged, with a particular focus on moving towards a more sustainable, environmentally and socially responsible future.