Bilum Fashion In The Highlands Of Papua New Guinea A Case Study Of Bilum Fashion In Eastern Highlands Province (Goroka)

The purpose of this paper is to identify and map trends in the Eastern Highlands bilum fashion industry (in a global context) and, through the application of traditional bilum art, establish strategies that could be employed by Eastern Highlands small and medium bilum fashion loopers in response to the move toward a wider awareness, growth and promotion of bilum fashion. It also seeks to contribute to address a deficiency in the literature concerning indigenous bilum wear, a fashion through the process of native looped art, especially what if anything is excluded in the interpretations of non-indigenous researchers with regard to bilum wear arts.Work out the relationship between fashion and bilum art, how the fashion and bilum art ideas are conceived in the mind and the difference in the process of execution. On the equally named interaction of fashion and bilum art, the investigation proceeds from analyzing to comparing the cognitive structure of knowing and interpretation as the mind of a person plays an important role. Success factors and problems associated with the creation, development and management of bilum fashion were identified.This study is an example of artistic research that explores the border between fashion design and contemporary artisan art, in order to place situated bodily practices within the larger field of exploration and ideology, and to discover new formats.This paper also provides an understanding of Goroka bilum fashion position in the global fashion map and ascertains whether competitive fashion strategies exist for the Eastern Highlands bilum fashion industry. Furthermore, it sets the stage for further research by identifying knowledge gaps pertaining to the applicability of fashion design to the bilum fashion industry and providing findings to bridge these gaps.