Considerate design for personalized fashion: towards sustainable production

The inbuilt obsolescence of the fashion system and its ever faster cycles creates large volumes of waste, as clothing is discarded long before its useful life is over, with 60% of what is thrown away recoverable. The Size UK survey of 2001-2 found that the average female was size 16, yet the fashion clothing choices available do not meet the needs of a wide sector of the market. The fact that many items of clothing do not fit well contributes to the landfill problem. Considerate Design for Personalised Fashion Products seeks to develop personalised fashion and accessories to meet consumer needs for individual fit and comfort. The intention is, through personalisation, to increase consumer engagement and use of garments, whilst providing support for designers in the fashion industry by developing a sustainable design methodology for designers and a tool that enables them to access the relative environmental impact of design options. The project draws on three practice-led sub-projects situated at different sectors of the market: the mass market through ‘Knit to Fit’, radical innovation in the fashion industry through rapid prototyping techniques and the bespoke market through the work of innovative designer makers