Abstract
This paper describes a collaborative clothing design process applied at an incubation
hub that supports and develops apprentice clothing designers who aspire to launch
their own entrepreneurial ventures. A specific range, which was designed during a
design process, had to be showcased at an international fashion week and then sold
to consumers in a local specialty store. A case study research design was
implemented to describe the collaborative design process between apprentice and
expert designers. Qualitative research methods were used in this study, namely
observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that collective
creativity resulted from the collaboration between the designers and apprentice
designers who worked in teams. Collective creativity proved to be beneficial to the
apprentice designers as well as the expert designers. The particular benefits of
collaboration and collective creativity for apprentice designers during the specific
clothing design process pertain to fluency and flexibility, whereas the benefits for
expert designers were in the novelty of ideas presented by apprentice designers.
Other benefits from a business perspective relate to the expectations of apprentice
designers about the design process for a specific target market and the stimulation
of creativity during problem-solving, which are important in a business or
entrepreneurial context. Recommendations regarding the application of the design
process at a creative incubation hub are provided.