Problem Brief
This project started with the broad challenge of addressing how we might make the circulation of clothes more sustainable, while still allowing people to express themselves through fashion. The specific method used for this exploration was speculative design, in which the design process is used as an approach to imagine alternative futures in order to comment on and spark debate around present social landscapes.
Research and Ideation
Before starting ideation for potential solutions, several broad questions guided the direction for the rest of the design process.
- In what ways can we change the production and circulation of clothing to make it sustainable?
- What current solutions already attempt to address this issue?
- How do they cater to current values and in what ways do they subvert them?
- On what scale do we want to address this problem?
A comparative analysis looked at various existing apps that people use to sell used clothing like Mercari (shown below) Poshmark, and Depop.
Key observations made from observing these apps:
- They still operate through buying and selling of goods with monetary value. This system doesn’t do much to encourage people to value the pieces of clothing they own or put much thought into disposing / selling their unwanted clothing.
- Users sell mostly mass-produced items and prices are still controlled by brand names and condition of the pieces.
- Most buying and selling happens on a large scale with no interaction between the users, with the app as an interface for direct exchange of clothing and money.
With these findings in mind, three main ideas were proposed for how we might imagine a post-capitalistic circulation of garments:
- What if people traded their clothing and we remove the idea of ownership all together? This could de-emphasize the role of monetary worth in clothing and encourage people to turn toward more creative expression of fashion.
- The trade of clothing could be scaled down to a more local scale so encourage community building and more sustainable ways of finding clothes without relying on long-distance transport.
- We can cultivate a social ethos that diverts from the purchasing of new pieces of clothing and rather encourage people to mend, create, and up-cycle pieces to imbue more personal meaning into the clothes we wear everyday.
Development
Building an app was the design artifact chosen to use to showcase the speculated future. Because apps are commonly used by clothing companies and thrift platforms to sell clothes, an alternate app can be compared to the standard yet diverging from current values.
Wireframes were laid out to imagine what the different pages of the app could look like. Many standard features were kept such as user reviews to keep people accountable in protecting the condition of clothes they receive.
Towards the beginning of the process, the app didn’t feel distinguishable from existing apps and did not highlight a different social landscape. Continuing to quickly experiment with low-fidelity helps to create features that tells a story about the reimagined future, showcased in the final app.
Final Product
The history section shows the life cycle of a piece of clothing. It gives information on who its been worn by and any modifications or creative additions they have made. This both gives a sense for how unique each item is as well as give users access to previous wearers if they have questions about the pieces.
Like current apps, a messages section allows users to have conversations around pieces of clothing and their methods of mending and up-cycling clothes. The examples populated here show how community is built within this app and the values that the users share.
The process for requesting a process offers a streamlined way for users to trade clothing, with various options for receiving and returning items. Since the app encourages trading within a local community, users can choose to trade the items in person or through contactless pick-up to minimize shipping and transport.
The recycling section offers an easy way for users to recycle un-mendable and unusable clothing / textiles based on an item’s materials and condition.
Reflection
Towards the beginning of the process, the app didn’t feel distinguishable from existing apps and did not highlight a different social landscape. Continuing to quickly experiment with low-fidelity helps to create features that tells a story about the reimagined future, showcased in the final app.