Sustainable practices and transformable fashion design – Chinese professional and consumer perspectives

Abstract

Many consumers are contented with the fast fashion styles, abundant choices, and affordable price. However, other consumers and environmental advocates began to question about this fast fashion system, including the problems of overconsumption and disposable clothing. As a result, many fashion practitioners and scholars have been developing different strategies and methods to minimise the fabric waste, and prolong the product lifespan through innovative design. The objectives of this study are twofold: (1) to explore various techniques for creating transformable clothing and (2) to gain a deeper understanding of how individuals (entrepreneurs, designers, professors, and consumers) respond to their perceptions of transformable clothing, and issues of sustainability in China. This study consists of three stages -design experiments, in-depth interviews, and online surveys. In stage one, various design prototypes were developed, with one of them being selected as the visual stimuli for stages two and three. According to our results, many informants and online participants supported the concept of sustainable fashion as well as the idea of transformable garments. However, many professionals had numerous concerns regarding the production cost, practicality, adaptability, and saleability. ARTICLE HISTORY

Convert one outfit to more looks: factors influencing young female college consumers’ intention to purchase transformable apparel

“…More specifically, fast fashion speeds up consumer's acquisition and makes it possible for consumers to obtain more styles with lower quality and at lower cost (Cao et al 2014), which, in turn, increases landfill waste. Transformable-designed apparel products provide an alternative option to consumers wishing to change to different styles without purchasing new products (Rahman and Gong 2016). Through various manipulative methods, such as wrapping, twisting, folding, or gathering, transformable garments provide two or more functional and/or alternative aesthetic styles.…”

“…Consumers' demands have been diversifying, which makes it harder to predict due to rapidly changing trends and fashion tastes (Kang and Park-Poaps 2010). Being transformable allows the aesthetics and functionality of the items to be converted into multiple styles and functions to meet consumers' need for novelty and versatility (Koo et al 2014;Rahman and Gong 2016). This trend is expected to increase the use intensity, extend the lifespan of apparel products, and reduce disposal (Koo et al 2014), which may be a potential solution to the problem of excessive apparel consumption faced by the fashion industry today.…”

“…This trend is expected to increase the use intensity, extend the lifespan of apparel products, and reduce disposal (Koo et al 2014), which may be a potential solution to the problem of excessive apparel consumption faced by the fashion industry today. In addition, transformable apparel can be alternative sources of revenue for the fashion industry and has been suggested as a good concept for the young consumer market (Rahman and Gong 2016).…”

Evaluation of the Emotional Component of Transformable Clothing With Semantic Differential

“…However, other consumers and environmental advocates began to question about this fast fashion system, including the problems of overconsumption and disposable clothing. As a result, many fashion practitioners and scholars have been developing different strategies and methods to minimise the fabric waste, and prolong the product lifespan through innovative design [1]. The awareness of sustainability is increasing in diverse industries, including fashion industry.…”

Students' Perceptions of Adopting Minimal Transformative Wardrobes

“…Transformative clothing that can be worn in multiple ways has been identified for its potential to increase consumer wear rate, postpone disposal, and extend the lifespan of clothing (Cao et al, 2014;Rahman & Gong, 2016). In spite of existing doubts by fashion industry professionals on whether consumers would be willing to accept transformative clothing (Rahman & Gong, 2016), young consumers have expressed interest in transformative clothing that would expand their wardrobe possibilities and extend the wear length of their clothing (Cao et al, 2014).…”