Assignment 1 - Project and Design Research

Griselda Jevon 

0353958

Bachelor of Fashion Design Technology (Hons) - Semester 4 

Adaptive Clothing (Taylor's University x NanoTextile)

Lecturers: Prof. Thomas Ong Poh Shing & Dr. Alshaimaa Alanadoly

In the first weeks of this semester, we were introduced to our semester project on adaptive clothing. We met Prof. Thomas, who explained our collaboration with Nano Textile to create adaptive clothing. Prof. Thomas highlighted the importance of disability inclusion in fashion and provided an introduction to Nano Textile, describing how this sustainable industry operates. He emphasized how adaptive clothing combines fashion with sustainability. By looking from the consumer perspective, especially people with disabilities, we can design fashion that is functional and suitable to their needs.

Prof. Thomas and Dr. Shaimaa also briefed us on our first assignment, which was project and design research. For this assignment, we are tasked with conducting research in groups to understand the needs of target consumers. We need to explore the target market of people with disabilities and survey the availability of adaptive clothing in the market. As a group, we will design research tools for surveying and interviewing professionals in disability and adaptive fashion, particularly from the medical sector. Our goal is to finalize the feasibility of our survey topics, including deciding where, who, and what to focus on.

Assignment Brief:

Task 1 – Importance of Disability Inclusion in Fashion / Pre-Prototype

• Background of the target market and the size of the market
• Background research of their conditions and expected needs
• Available solutions in the market, and a detailed breakdown analysis of how those solutions met the need
• Reflections on materials and trims used to fulfill the needs

Task 2 – Investigation for Solution of Design

• Survey/Interview existing disability / adaptive fashion professionals from the medical sector, finalizing the feasibility of where/ who / what for your survey topics of interest (investigation questions to ask)

My groupmates, Arifah, Jocelyn, Michell, Vanessa, and I started to distribute our work and conduct our research. We chose the wheelchair-bound section with Parkinson's disease as our main topic. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a brain condition that causes problems with movement, mental health, sleep, pain, and other health issues. PD gets worse over time. There is no cure, but therapies and medicines can reduce symptoms.

We conducted in-depth research on the disease's symptoms, the five stages of the disease, treatments, care, and the expected needs of patients. After understanding the disease, we began researching how to propose solutions to their problems and needs. By researching the market, we identified gaps and areas that need improvement. In week 4, we proposed four designs of adaptive clothing and presented them to Prof. Thomas and Ms. Shaimaa. After our presentation, Prof. Thomas gave us feedback on the designs and suggested we continue our research to add more functional features suitable for the disease and condition we chose.

This group assignment was intended to give us an easier step before embarking on our individual projects. Through this assignment, I got to do research and discussions with my groupmates, which helped me collect more information and deepen my understanding.

Presentation Slides