To encourage students to think of designing garments for special needs as part of a general designframework, a problem-solving approach that does not distinguish between functional apparel design and fashion design is presented. A model for assessing user needs and wants incorporates functional, expressive, and aesthetic (FEA) considerations. Examples of how the, framework has been used in design projects are presented Suggested uses for the FEA model are offered.

This systematic review examined use of Lamb and Kallal’s (1992) Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic (FEA) Consumer Needs Model and integrated Apparel Design (AD) Framework within scholarly journal publications. The 126 peer-reviewed articles citing Lamb and Kallal published in English between 1992 and 2017 were the focus of this article. We identify the breadth of citations across the 25-year time span, examine application of the FEA Model and/or the AD Framework, and identify and confirm use of the FEA Model as a theoretical framework. Authors used the consumer needs focus to assess FEA criteria for products targeted to various consumer groups and product types. Findings indicate that the FEA Model has been applied under a variety of conditions to understand consumer needs, inform the design process, confirm the utility of the model, and demonstrate the strength and flexibility of the FEA Model. Future research directions are suggested.

The purpose of this study was to develop a test that measures spatial skills relative to product development and apparel design. To provide some support for content validity, the test included components of spatial products, spatial storage, and spatial thought. As evidence of the type of spatial ability measured by the test, an established test that measures spatial relations (Differential Aptitude Test-Space Relations) (DATSR) was correlated with the newly developed test. To provide preliminary statistical data regarding the test, a between-subjects design study was conducted with clothing construction/patternmaking training (none, some) as the independent variable. Dependent variables were the Apparel Spatial Visualization Test (ASVT) and the DATSR. To evidence content validity of the test, scores on the ASVT should reflect improvement in spatial abilities as a function of training. Students with some training scored higher on the ASVT but did not differ in their scores on the DATSR compared to those with no training. This provides some evidence that the ASVT measures spatial skills specific to apparel design and product development. The ASVT and the DATSR were not significantly correlated.

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