The introduction of a distinct and tailored disorder in photonic materials is a change of paradigm. Recent research in this strongly developing field demonstrates that strict periodicity in photonic devices is not the only possible way to implement desired functionalities and a defined degree of disorder can even give rise to hitherto unforeseen optical effects. However, there is a large gap between theoretical considerations and practically available materials and devices. Up to now, fabrication routes to tailor disorder in a material have been scarce and only very recently significant research efforts have been devoted to such diverse topics as random lasers, disorder-enhanced solar cells, random spectrometers, quasi-periodic systems, localization, and bioinspired photonic materials. The overarching objectives of tailored disorder comprise the successful production of materials containing a defined degree and type of disorder with predictable photonic properties that eventually lead to technological demonstrators. The theoretical and artificial systems that have been identified so far are not only limited with respect to property and performance control, but are often too expensive for any widespread technological implementation. Thus, new fabrication approaches and synthesis routes are required to merge scientific innovation and understanding with advanced engineering strategies. As an example, consider the research in the context of identifying nanoarchitectures in biological systems, which produce a specialized optical response by means of disordered photonic structures, e.g., in butterflies, beetles, or ants. The present feature issue highlights the state of the art in this highly interdisciplinary research field with the hope to stimulate further research in numerous directions for exciting implementations of tailored disorder in photonic materials.