Solution
A digital platform:
a smart & social wardrobe
My solution is to establish a mobile platform that allows users to match fashion items owned in their wardrobe, identifying what they already own and need. So that throughout the end, it could promote smart shopping. Besides its function, the outcome would be delightful, user friendly and educational on consumption and social impact.
My idea is an app that connects fashion users, helps them avoid impulsive buying by setting up a shopping list, organising their wardrobe, generating fashion looks and selecting a proper item.
Duration
3 Months
Aug - Nov 2020
Roles
UX research
UI design
Tools
Figma
Google Docs
Adobe suits
Skills
UX Research
Information Structure
UI Design
Wireframing
Prototyping
Overview
App design - Garderobe
utilising your wardrobe sustainably
Garderobe allows users to match fashion items owned in their wardrobe, identifying what they already own and need. Throughout the end, it could promote smart shopping.
Besides its function, the outcome would be delightful, user friendly and educational on consumption and social impact.
Full Figma prototype - click here
Problem
How to reduce fast fashion's waste problem in New Zealand
Nowadays, we live in a fast-fashion society. Clothes are much cheaper compared to the last 20 years. The demand for fashion is enormous. In 2020, the fashion sale volume in New Zealand has come to $4000 million, which has rapidly increased since 1997.
To satisfy the fashion demand, 100 billion new garments made from new fibres are produced annually. Under the enormous, it creates a huge amount of unnecessary fibre waste.
There are 25% perfectly fine fibres that can be reused and recycled in Wellington Southern landfill, which has doubled since 2009. At the same time, the fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world. It causes serious impacts like water consumption and accumulation, soil degradation, rainforest destruction, microfibers in the ocean and chemical pollution.
“Demand quality not just in the products you buy, but in the life of the person who made it.” —Orsola de Castro, designer and co-founder of Fashion Revolution
Challenge
Evaluating and balancing
multi-values into one platform
The biggest challenge of the project is to meet users' needs and apply behaviour change at the same time.
Also, this project includes various aspects: connecting fashion users, helping them avoid impulsive buying by setting up a shopping list, organising their wardrobe, generating fashion suggestions and providing a selection of a proper item.
Reflection
After three months, I have learned how a digital product developed from defining a problem to the final prototype. I was able to overcome all the challenges through user research and suggestions from my tutor, Christiaan de Groot.
Even though the project is still at the prototype stage, visitors to the grad show felt excited about the product. Furthermore, by establishing a mobile app for youth to utilise their fashion items in their wardrobe, arranging an event to look for the right items with friends, sharing sustainable knowledge, and giving them a nudge to develop a better-consuming behaviour.
Although sustainability in the fashion industry still has a long way to go, encouraging users to develop a better fashion-consuming behaviour is making a better impact on our community and a more enjoyable environment for our planet.
Design Aim
A sweet spot between fashion needs & sustainability
Even though fashion can cause bad effects in our society. From a piece of clothes we wear, an image to a style, fashion is affecting us every time and everywhere. Even people who say they don’t care what they wear choose clothes every morning that say a lot about them and how they feel that day.
Therefore, my aim is to find the sweet spot that is not only satisfying users' fashion demands but helping them to set up a sustainable fashion habit.
User Research
Impulsive purchases cause fashion overconsumption
To better understand the problem, I decided to invite students around me and use their data to identify the reason for causing waste in fast fashion. The focus group is 300 students aged 20-25 years old.
Upon examining the data from the survey, I discovered several main facts:
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Most Respondents do not know what style suits them.
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Respondents can not remember all the items in the wardrobe
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Respondents would easily make purchases based on advertisements, comments and social media
