Usership in Fashion
A Grounded Theory on Wearer-Clothing Relationships
- Name
- Ana Neto
- Year
- 2024
- Institution
- Lisbon School of Architecture Universidade de Lisboa
- Supervisors
- João Batalheiro, Gabriela Forman
- Discipline
- Fashion Design
- Scope
- Sustainability
- Taxonomy
- Epistemology/Phenomenology
- Type
- Theoretical
- Language
- English
- Wordcount / Pagecount
- 68,488 / 266
- Joint supervision
- No
How design can support long-term wearer–clothing relationships
Research Process (5 methods)
x
Women who provided first-person testimonies for the book *Women in Clothes*; the majority followed Western lifestyles and were based in the United States
Adult women, primarily residing in the Global North, with a high percentage holding college degrees or higher
Members of an online community participating in a challenge to wear one dress for 100 days; participants were primarily white women from overconsuming countries (US and Europe)
1st-year Fashion Design Master’s students and the participants they recruited from their own social circles (family, partners, and friends)
| # | Name of Method | Research Phase | Research Approach | Researcher Role | Object of Study / Participants | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Literature review | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | x | x |
| 2 | Content analysis | Exploratory/Generative | Qualitative | x | Women who provided first-person testimonies for the book *Women in Clothes*; the majority followed Western lifestyles and were based in the United States | 600 |
| 3 | Questionnaire | Generative | Qualitative | x | Adult women, primarily residing in the Global North, with a high percentage holding college degrees or higher | 170 |
| 4 | Netnography | Generative | Qualitative | x | Members of an online community participating in a challenge to wear one dress for 100 days; participants were primarily white women from overconsuming countries (US and Europe) | 12 |
| 5 | Wardrobe study | Generative | Qualitative | x | 1st-year Fashion Design Master’s students and the participants they recruited from their own social circles (family, partners, and friends) | 17 |
Knowledge Transfer & Exchange
Knowledge Exchange (PhD Process): Exchange with Academia
| IK&T | Academia | Design Practice | Society |
|---|---|---|---|
| Context | No | No | No |
| Vision | Yes | Partially | No |
| Means | No | No | No |
Recommendations (7)
Investigate male wearer perspectives in order to test, extend, and possibly reshape the theory of wearer–clothing relationships.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Study wearer–clothing relationships in non-consumerist societies in order to derive lessons for contemporary consumption societies.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Low-Medium
Explore wearer–clothing relationships with multiples of the same item, such as socks, underwear, basic tops, cardigans, and well-fitting trousers, to test whether the theory changes in these cases.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Medium → Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Systematically verify whether sound wearer–clothing relationships reduce consumption driven by perceived needs and by wants.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Develop theory on people’s relationships with other designed, overconsumed products in order to extend the thesis beyond clothing to material culture more broadly.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Investigate the role of communities as supportive social arrangements for wearer–clothing relationships and as a grassroots scope of action for design.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Medium → Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Explore how upbringing shapes relationships with clothing and how design can nudge younger wearers’ capabilities and practices.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium