Fashion Fictions Worlds 1-120 analysis

This dataset presents an interpretive content analysis of 120 short fictional outlines of alternative fashion cultures and systems, or ‘Worlds’, that were contributed to the Fashion Fictions project between January 2020 and August 2021.

These were the first 120 Worlds submitted to the project, as Stage 1 of a three-stage structure. The number has since grown, passing 200 Worlds in March 2023, and the opportunity to contribute remains open. The full current collection can be viewed on the World summary page on the website.

The analysis produced a list of 632 Topics, organised into 67 Dimensions which are in turn organised into 15 Groups.

Further detail on this research, including how responses were elicited, prompts given to contributors, the analysis methodology and a discussion of limitations, is available in Twigger Holroyd, A. (2024), ‘Writing sustainable fashion worlds’, in A. Schramme and N. Verboven (eds), Sustainability and the Fashion Industry: Can Fashion Save the World? (Abingdon: Routledge), 19–35.

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This focused research was situated within the broader Fashion Fictions project. Fashion Fictions, founded by Amy Twigger Holroyd in 2020, brings people together to generate, experience and reflect on engaging fictional visions of alternative fashion cultures and systems. Through these activities, we gain new perspectives on challenges, possibilities and pathways for change in the real world.

The project is structured in three stages. Stage 1 prompts contributors to create brief written outlines of fictional fashion cultures and systems, known as Worlds (as presented in this dataset); at Stage 2, participants put flesh on these outlines and create visual or material prototypes to represent their cultures, known as Explorations; at Stage 3, they performatively enact practices or events from the fictional worlds.

To find out more about Fashion Fictions, visit the project website. To see other data linked to the project, visit the Fashion Fictions Zenodo community.

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This dataset comprises three components:

1 Worlds 1–120

Each World, as displayed on the project website, is saved as a pdf. Each World page includes the fiction itself (a 100-word written outline), plus optional responses to three supplementary prompts (relating to the core ‘what if’, real-world frustration or issue addressed, and inspiration).

The contributor of the fiction, either named or anonymised according to their preference, is credited along with details of the Creative Commons licence that has been applied to the content.

Each page also includes responses to the fiction in the form of linked Explorations and Enactments and real-world examples, as saved in March 2024.

2 World summary page

The World summary page, as it was displayed in August 2021 when only the first 120 Worlds had been published, is provided as a pdf. The summary page can be used as a way of quickly navigating the core ideas of the Worlds. The short summary provided for each one was written by the researcher, Amy Twigger Holroyd, rather than the contributor.

3 Worlds analysis spreadsheet

The analysis spreadsheet has five tabs. In the first three tabs, the 120 Worlds are listed in rows, with relevant information and analysis for each World appearing in the columns. This information includes the summary of the World and the location of the author (listed by continent with the exception of the UK, as there are a large number of contributions from this country; ATH = Amy Twigger Holroyd, project founder).

The remaining two tabs summarise information about the Topics and Dimensions generated through the analysis.

Note that the analysis focused only on the 100-word world descriptions, rather than the supporting information provided by the contributor – unless this information clarified an otherwise ambiguous element of the fiction. Also, only descriptions of the contemporary situation in the fictional world were analysed; parts of the fiction that described the historical juncture or how the world developed were not.

Note that brevity was prioritised when the names for the Groups and Dimensions were selected. Topic names stay close to the wording used by the participants in their fictions, including terms that would distinguish each Topic from others within the same Dimension.

Tab 1: Content analysis by Topic

The columns on this tab are the 632 Topics generated through the content analysis (Row 1), organised into 67 Dimensions (Row 2) which are in turn organised into 15 Groups (Row 3).

The analysis can be navigated by Topic (to identify Worlds in which a Topic is mentioned) or by World (to identify Topics mentioned in that World).

‘1’ entered in a column indicates that a Topic is mentioned in the relevant World. A coloured cell containing ‘1’ indicates a Topic that was considered to be a central idea in that World.

‘1’ in the column at the right hand side of each Dimension indicates that one or more Topics within that Dimension are mentioned in that World. A coloured cell containing ‘1’ indicates that a Topic within that Dimension was considered to be a central idea in that World.

Rows 125/126 display the total number of Worlds in which the Topic is mentioned, and the total number of Worlds in which the Topic is central.

Tab 2: Content analysis by Dimension

This table is simply an edited version of Tab 1, with the Topic columns removed to more clearly show which Worlds mention Topics in which Dimension. ‘1’ in the column at the right hand side of each Group indicates that Topics within one or more Dimensions within that Group are mentioned in that World.

Again, a coloured cell indicates the presence of a Topic that was considered to be a central idea in that World. At the bottom of the table are rows with totals.

Tab 3: Content analysis by Group

This table is an edited version of Tab 2, with the Dimension columns removed to more clearly show which Worlds mention Topics in which Group. A coloured cell indicates the presence of a Topic within the Group that was considered to be a central idea in that World. At the bottom of the table are rows with totals, as before.

Tab 4: Topic list

This table transposes the Groups, Dimensions and Topics that are placed in columns in Tabs 1-3 and lists them in rows for easier navigation. Columns on the right replicate the totals from the rows at the bottom of Tab 1, indicating the total number of Worlds in which the Topic is mentioned, and total number of Worlds in which the Topic is central.

Tab 5: Dimension list

This table is an edited version of Tab 4, with Topics removed. Columns on the right replicate the totals from the rows at the bottom of Tab 2.