This project explores how intuition, experimentation and chance can open up new ways of understanding fashion design
The End. The Story Ends Here
IED Kunsthal Bilbao - Student: Ainara Arizabaleta
Academic year
2025/2026
What if play were not just a childhood activity, but also a creative tool? Inspired by the theories of Donald Winnicott, this Final Degree Project reclaims play as a creative methodology capable of connecting design with emotion, identity and personal experience.
Developed as part of the Official Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design, the project investigates the potential of play as a way to enrich the creative process. Rather than viewing it as an activity exclusive to childhood, it proposes embracing play as a mindset that encourages exploration, intuition and the development of a unique creative identity.
The research takes shape through a fashion collection created by experimenting with materials, chance and intuitive decision-making. Layers, transparencies, volumes, and unexpected combinations of colours and textures transform the design process into an open-ended exploration, allowing the materials themselves to play an active role in shaping the final outcome.
The project incorporates references to contemporary art and explores unconventional materials within the field of fashion, expanding the expressive possibilities of design. Instead of pursuing a predetermined outcome, it proposes a methodology in which theory and practice remain in constant dialogue.
Ultimately, the project demonstrates that play, intuition and experimentation can serve as valid creative methodologies for developing a distinctive visual language, positioning creativity as an experience deeply connected to emotion, memory and personal growth.
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