Prototyping Scales of Knitwear Design for Sustainability

This paper explores how the physical presence of prototypes substantiates research at various scales of design. Working with sustainable change challenges us to stand in the open and act towards a future that we do not know the full picture of. Here I propose to turn our attention to the traditional design method of prototyping to unfold how to influence various scales of design.

The paper begins outlining the scope of the experimental and practice-based research within knitwear design, and discuss prototyping as a means to investigate the role of the designer in an industry in search of sustainable development. The presented design experiments show, how applying the knitted prototypes contributed to a research program which both holds the details, and at the same time makes it possible to assess the broader perspective of design practice when making changes of the existing fashion system.