Abstract
The purpose of this study was to offer some directions for the design of men's knitwear and provide basic data helpful for design conception and product development for creative and unique men's knitwear. As for the methodology, the investigator examined the works of these following ten designers that consistently participated in the men's Milano Collection for the last ten years from 2001 S/S to 2010 F/W: Burberry Prorsum, Costume National, D & G, D squared, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Iceberg, Prada, and Vivien Westwood. We identified the design elements expressed in knitwear, categorized examples for each element, and reviewed their characteristics. The results of this study are as follows. The designers usually adopted the H-silhouette with some room until 2006, after which the slim tubular silhouette became prevalent. Most of the designers made knitwear with normal yarn and expressed them by dyeing or printing regardless of seasons, which meant the usage level of fancy yarn was low. The much usage of the basic pattern was particularly salient. The most popular basic structure was plain, which was followed by rib and color pattern, which included the jacquard and intarsia pattern. The designers presented thick outer items made of thick yarn for F/W seasons and many thin inner items made of thin yarn for S/S seasons. The popular colors were brown from the Red Group(R) and beige from the Orange Group (YR) regardless of seasons. When achromatic colors were used a lot, there was a development of various grey shades. For the most used basic structure, plain, the designers employed such technical methods as printing, pleat treatment, and dyeing in high frequency.
