Reflection in action: a design-based pathway to sustainability in fashion design higher education

Adopting a Design-Based Research approach, this paper examines how Education for Sustainable Development can be integrated into fashion design higher education in Germany and Iran. It reports on the third iteration of the Sustainable Fashion Design Strategies course at Hochschule Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts, involving undergraduate students from Fashion, Product, and 3D Design. The course incorporated lectures, discussions, workshops, and structured reflection, with the USE-LESS Product Lifecycle as the central didactic tool. Data were collected through e-portfolios, a group interview, and structured observations. Findings indicate that experiential and multimodal learning supports conceptual understanding of sustainability, facilitates engagement with sustainable fashion design strategies, and provides indications of shifts towards sustainability as a professional mindset. Iterative refinement enhanced knowledge integration and pedagogical coherence, while highlighting the need for improved scaffolding of complex techniques. The study offers contextually grounded design principles to inform sustainability-oriented fashion design education in comparable settings.