“Digital craftsmanship” as a methodology for fashion research

The paper describes the characteristics and potential of d_archive’s method in 3D modeling of high quality replicas of fashion artefacts. d_archive is an emerging project with the purpose to support the preservation of fashion heritage and make it accessible digitally, since 2022 the collective is collaborating with various institutions to develop a specific approach to the digitalisation of fashion objects – garments and accessories. Their method is defined by the collective as “digital craftsmanship,” because it involves several skills and knowledge that allow the translation from the physical to the digital. The method is explored in the article via three case studies, as representative models, developed in collaboration with the ModeMuseum Antwerpen. The case studies are contextualised by a theoretical framework in the field of material culture analysis for fashion research; digitalisation and interoperability; workshop and participatory pedagogies for fashion. By reading and analysing the case study, three main characteristics of d_archive methodology emerge: the involvement of analogue techniques such as pattern drafting and sewing, but also fashion design knowledges and skills fostered by participatory activity with the use of a study collection; the characteristics of “digital craftsmanship” a skillful method wherein digital objects are gradually crafted in all the details; the role of artefacts digitisation for fashion research, considering the potential of d_archive’s method that does not aim to overcome object based and material research, but rather to integrate it, opening up multiple possibilities for further interpretation of fashion sources–thanks to interoperability of the digital files.