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The aim of this study is to learn what is needed to improve the user’s experience of the purchase and wearing of used clothing from the secondhand marketplace. In South Korea user experiences relat...

The concept of a ‘sharing economy’ and practice of ‘collaborative consumption’ suggest making use of market intelligence to foster a more collaborative and sustainable society. The clothing behaviour of retired men can be explained by social and economic changes that expose them to new cultural influences. Our goal was to evaluate the probability of success of a clothing sharing service in a collaborative economy. Hence, we examined the possibility of sharing idle clothing through a sustainable clothing service. A survey of South Korean retirees born before 1964 revealed that male retirees wore their clothes for 4.8 years on average before they would dispose them off. Only 14 per cent of idle clothing has been shared; however, a majority of retirees surveyed showed an affirmative attitude to the concept of sharing their clothing through a service. This could become a sustainable practice.

In South Korea, the growth of senior men's wear, "A-Jae (meaning 'uncle') fashion, has newly appeared in men's clothing, and the emergence of "A-Jae fashion" as an innovative trend may produce a reinterpretation of the country's fashion distribution system. "A-Jae fashion" offers a new market with sustainable implications and allows younger generations to learn from and follow this trend. This senior fashion is a valuable phenomenon to pursue as it has implications for the origins of fashion and determination of who becomes an innovator concerning gender and age. Fashion in South Korea may no longer be perceived as special and inaccessible. Rather, the focus is on the question of whether individuals can pursue innovation by wearing their own unique style, regardless of age or gender. This new fashion stream means that fashion is no longer the exclusive possession of a few fashion experts, nor something pursued only by young people.

Fashion curation is an integral form of public scholarship within our field and yet has historically been overlooked as such. Unlike creative design scholarship, we have not collectively developed nor agreed upon methods for peer review. As a result, curatorial work is often not considered in tenure-review processes, despite fashion exhibitions meeting the core principles of disseminating scholarship beyond the academy. A recent article in the Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, “Fashion Exhibitions as Scholarship,” challenged members of our field to implement peer review of fashion curation as a way to encourage and elevate this important form of scholarship (Green, et al., 2019). In this experimental salon session, we built upon Green et al.’s (2019) work by using the innovative salon session format as a juried venue for presenting fashion exhibitions rooted in rigor and research. Five fashion exhibitions were presented and discussed during the session.

This study used the framework of esthetic response to analyze student perceptions of outerwear coats as one apparel product considered for its potential for extended wear. Through a pilot, six coat...

This issue marks 10 years of Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Creative Process and the Fashion Industry. Over these 10 years, scholars and practitioners have reflected on fashion practice w...

A continuous collaborative design process is explored within an educational–industry partnership involving critique, redesign and refinement, in which unsold products were upcycled and reconsidered for their appropriateness to brand esthetics and consumer use. Such collaborative partnerships help to prevent the wasteful disposal of unsold products. Students who experience the collaborative and iterative process early in their education may learn to accommodate a more sustainable set of constraints within their designs. The focus of study was a process that outlined the basic steps to involve students in a meaningful partnership for product redevelopment.

Upcycling used clothing could transform textile waste into raw materials for new fashion items. Our research goals were to add a longitudinal element to previous research which engaged female focus group participants in a collaborative upcycling project, to further understand motivations for upcycling used clothing, and to identify common characteristics of those who choose to upcycle. Upcycling behavior of 30 women (mean age 44, 87% Caucasian) was explored through questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and visual analysis. The study also aimed to determine the conditions under which upcycling used clothes might be most successful and to further study potential for a service or business. The findings will have practical implications for those interested in fostering sustainable best practices in clothing and for entrepreneurs to weigh the pros and cons of starting a new upcycling business.

This research explored teenagers’ use of handcraft apparel in the United States and South Korea. Teenagers were selected for a cross national comparison of youth and their emotional attachment to handcraft apparel in terms of: use of handcraft items compared with purchased products; the relationship between the craft user and creator; and the influence of emotional attachment to handcrafts on the friendship and self-esteem of youths. Responses of US and Korean high school and middle school students acknowledged the value of handcrafts. Handcraft items offer a measure of sustainability not offered by clothing destined for the fast-fashion cycle. Items handcrafted by friends and family have considerable value as objects of everyone design as well as emotional value. In this study, we also conclude that the value of handcraft apparel and crafts in everyday creativity may have a positive influence on peer relationships and self-esteem among youth in the two countries. Comparing the two youth groups in this study, we found that US teenagers have a greater tendency to use handcrafted items compared with their Korean counterparts that may be attributed to the wider popularity of handcrafting in US society. US participants reported a significantly longer period of actual use of handcraft items. Although handcraft items are increasingly overlooked in favor of mass-produced fashion products, handcraft apparel can be expected to endure as an alternative product with recognized sustainability, given the perceived importance of handmade craft and apparel made by loved ones.

The increased need to consider sustainability in the field of apparel is gaining awareness among designers, producers, marketers, and consumers who are currently considering their next moves in the arena of apparel products, design, and innovation. The paradox of fast fashion and the pursuit of modernity, alongside the need to care for the earth’s resources in a sustainable manner that includes social, economic, and environmental impacts, is a difficult dilemma. Many researchers have been looking at the problem from different perspectives; the focus here is on how we educate our students as soon-to-become design professionals. Up-cycling is one good strategy to protect ecosystems, because the goal of up-cycling is to prevent wasting potentially useful materials by making use of existing ones. In the process of up-cycling garments for sustainability the article considers what impact this has on the apparel design process and how students learn and must learn differently based upon this need. Partic...

The focus of this paper is how design students think about sustainable practices and design solutions. A survey distributed to American and Korean design students asked how important sustainability was to them as a user and as a professional in training. How the two groups of students understand sustainability in apparel was considered through their identification of sustainable strategies and practicing of sustainable behaviours. In analysis regarding practices throughout the clothing lifespan, the most significant sustainable factor for American students was ‘purchase’ and for Korean students it was ‘use’. This comparison provides valuable insights regarding how cultural factors shape and influence perspectives on sustainability and how this information pertains to design education.

The term ‘re-birth’ refers to the redesign of stock items originally released through the distribution route for sale to consumers but returned to headquarters as unsold stock. As a sustainable fashion practice, products are analysed and redeveloped by designers for resale as new products. During this 4-month project, a South Korean handbag company partnered with senior apparel design students in Seoul to execute a re-birth collaboration for fashion handbags. This study addresses some of the issues that arose in the process of interpretation and application of this re-birth exercise, including the relationship between the university and company, the roles of the student designer and company design team, characteristics of the product selected, and the communication required to implement the project. The concept of re-birth was introduced to the students, followed by a collaborative design exercise. Finally, 2 of the 50 re-birth designs were selected by company designers and altered for resale.

The phenomenon of flow, as described by Csikszentmihalyi, is considered a positive experience that should be encouraged, but the experience has not been studied in an apparel design process. The participants of the study included 12 students who were taking a senior-level apparel studio class to design their own line of 4–6 ensembles. Each participant was interviewed twice, once during the apparel design process and once following the completed project. Students reported that they were able to experience flow in the process and were often more creative and productive in the flow state. Factors that encouraged or discouraged students’ flow experience varied depending on the type of activities in the process. Since the flow state greatly enhanced students’ satisfaction and created positive responses, the study provides insight for educators in the apparel design field.

The Korean Fashion Industry has influenced the reputation of South Korea by establishing powerful partners in industrial design, movies, film design, lifestyle design, and the entertainment industr...

As media technology is developing, methods to present fashion products and communicate with audiences are also evolving. Designers and fashion brands are always on the lookout for more effective methods to deliver what designers intend through new products. The purpose of this research is to analyze different ways in which people perceive, cognize, and memorize the digital media of fashion show videos and fashion films in the communication process. Considering the difference in communication methods, this study is based on Shannon's communication model, Foulger's ecological model of the communication process, and Kopec's information management theory. In this research, Chanel's 2010 Cruise collection and fashion film, RememberNow, were used as content stimuli. The results indicate that there are significant differences between fashion shows and fashion films in terms of perception (p< .005), cognition (p< .005), and memorization (p< .005). This research will provide prospective methods for fashion designers and fashion firms to effectively deliver the latest fashion information to their audiences.

(2013). Eyewear, Fashion, Design, and Health. Fashion Practice: Vol. 5, Fashion, Health and Wellbeing, pp. 117-127.

This research takes a bottoms-up approach to sustainable practices of designers within one industry in a specific locale. In researching sustainability in the apparel industry, one must consider the fashion system in which apparel designers operate. This research examines apparel designers in Minnesota and their perspectives about best practices that will encourage sustainability. Designers from a variety of small to large size businesses are interviewed and the results are analyzed to identify present and future contributions with regards to sustainability in apparel design. Processes that take into account the local context of sustainability enable a shared understanding with potential for mutually acceptable approaches to address the issues.

Individuals who identify with punk subculture negotiate between aesthetic expression of their subcultural identity and the role they believe they are expected to play at work. Men and women, aged 26 - 45 years, in a wide range of professions were interviewed and asked questions related to their workplace dress. They were asked to bring to the interview a display of how they dress to express both their punk and workplace identities. Interviewees reported a balancing act of blending in and standing out, taking into consideration viewer interpretations and subsequent outcomes. Efforts to wear “appropriate” dress included accommodations such as modifying one's punk appearance by conceding to dress codes and using perceived non-confrontational aesthetic choices with punk cues subtly coded to appear conventional. Dress features were selectively revealing or concealing punk symbols as interviewees strive to push the boundaries of workplace appropriateness for satisfying aesthetic self-expression.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the differences in visualisation patterns are related to a viewer's previous training in design appreciation, and whether aesthetic visualisation is trainable in a short term. Forty-three female subjects, consisting of 20 trained and 23 untrained viewers, participated. Twenty fashion images, posed by a male and a female model, were shown on an eye-tracker screen for 10 s each. This study revealed that the trained viewer tended to show longer gaze duration and higher densities of fixations over the image, to be more sensitive to design changes, and to have less random scanning time, than the untrained viewer. Further, this study indicated that repetitive viewing of the same image in a short term was not an effective training mode of aesthetic visualisation.

Fostering an attitude of giving back is a useful exercise to consider within the academic community. There are many curricula that include leadership or philanthropy, but few that provide opportunities for individuals whose academic focus is neither exclusively philanthropy nor leadership. The Buckman Fellowship offers a unique program for innovative, creative, and motivated university faculty, staff, graduate students, and alumni to gain leadership and philanthropic skills needed to implement projects of their own design and powered by their own passion. Housed within a university, the program cultivates emerging philanthropic leaders, with a formal evaluation of stakeholders to refine its objectives and continually improve its outcomes.

Sustainability in fashion is going to require transformative changes in the practices of all involved: designers, manufacturers, marketers, and consumers. But consumers especially need a vision for sustainable fashion practice. This study directs attention toward a new type of fashion practice based on transformative acts in the consumption process. The research objective was to examine fashion practices related to a consumer's desire for a unique appearance and sources of clothing acquisition. Female university students (n = 97) of a Midwestern university in the USA completed the Desire for Unique Consumer Products (DUCP) Scale developed by Lynn and Harris. Of this group, sixteen were chosen for in-depth interviews based upon their high and low DUCP score and clothing sources they used: regular or frequent vintage wearers, occasional vintage wearers, and new clothing wearers. Participants were interviewed to determine how they defined and implemented a unique appearance. Wearers of both vintage a...

Robert Hillestad perceives the world as a vast network of interconnected persons, places, and things. He probes that mix on a daily basis in search of inspiration and insights; opportunities and meaning. For him, creativity is the thought process and practice of making his work come alive. It defines his work as well as him as an artist and educator. He thrives on being immersed in the creative process. He regards making art as an extension of life which he lives to the fullest, in the spirit of adventure. He is passionate about textiles. By combining traditional methods of manipulating fabric and threads with Marilyn DeLong

This study explores the current phenomenon of user-technology negotiation associated with new technology adoption in the apparel and footwear industry. A theoretical framework was proposed as a construct, and a case study was performed to evaluate the proposed framework. In partnership with a world leading footwear company, its newly patented prototyping technology, named the virtual sampling system (VSS), was used to generate empirical data. A web survey was administered to the employees and quantitative analysis was performed to assess the relationships among the study variables. Frequency of use was the most determinant external variable to identify relative social groups to categorise the technology users by the levels of their initial expectation of the technology, satisfaction with training sessions, and evaluations of the company's performance with the use of the technology. Based on the case study findings, a strategy for increasing the efficiency of internal communications was suggested to the pa...

A fundamental and contemporary issue in higher education is how to encourage global awareness, professional development, and accountability within constraints of curriculum and scarce resources. This is an evaluation of student experiences with a 1½-year cross-cultural partnership that included a team project, public presentations, publications, and 2-week travel exchanges. Data were collected from the participant’s project outcomes, from interviews pre- and posttravel, and survey questions at the end of the experience and 1 year later. The public face to the project allowed for partners to learn of the professional standards of the other culture while representing their own. Partner synergies were evidence of a personal, professional, and cultural awareness that provided a pathway to encourage cross-cultural learning among students in similar fields. Such cross-cultural experiences will help to ensure professional survival in the 21st century.

(2009). Innovation and Sustainability at Nike. Fashion Practice: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 109-113.

For any technological innovation to be adopted within a corporation, the role of the user must be considered in the acceptance process. As an effective strategy to gain empirical data, a case study method was employed to examine user perceptions in a world leading US footwear company. The company's own patented prototyping technology, called the Virtual Sampling (VS) system, was selected for study in 2007. Employees who were using the VS system were invited to respond to a Web questionnaire that included both qualitative and quantitative questions about the technology. Three main findings emerge from the study: 1) in the process of implementing a technology in an organization, there are external variable(s) that identify relative user groups within the organization; 2) different user groups tend to have different levels of perception of the technology and evaluate adoption and implementation from that perspective; 3) however, no matter which groups they belong to, technology users in the organizat...

Clothing and textiles research is examined within a futuring framework to discuss potential avenues for development of thought within the field. A philosophical perspective linking ontology, epistemology, and methodology is posited as important to exploring assumptions that guide the research process. The material culture studies perspective, the feminist social science perspective, and the critical science perspective are discussed as three potential ways of approaching the subject matter in need of mainstreaming as we look to the future of knowledge production within clothing and textiles. Based on this discussion, ideas and implications for scenario-building in the traditional futures sense are presented.

Redesigning used clothing – requiring deconstruction and reconstruction beyond basic repair and alteration – could be a sustainable alternative to these problems. Only a few authors have researched clothing redesign but even so have identified potential opportunities for economic and environmental gain (Janigo & Wu, in press; Young, Jirousek, & Ashdown, 2004). Our research goals were to add a longitudinal element to previous research which involved women in a collaborative redesign project in 2011 (Janigo & Wu, in press), to further understand how and why female consumers might redesign used clothing, and to identify what characteristics, if any, are shared among consumers of redesign.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze patterns of client and professional interaction as reported by professionals in the apparel industry.Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative research involved 23 professionals or individuals who worked for more than ten years in an executive position. The participants, who worked in a variety of positions, in the US apparel industry were interviewed extensively about their professional experiences. Data were analyzed by identifying themes in the interview transcripts using a grounded approach methodology.Findings – The participants described their professional relationships with clients. Clients included individuals in the general public and other industry professionals who used the service or bought the product. The participants, all women, showed similarity or homophily with clients' values, fashion level, age, gender, economic level, and body size. All participants emphasized differences or heterophily with clients in expertise and level of innov...

Purpose – To provide marketing and managerial insights to western companies selling denim jeans in China, specifically in Shanghai. Understanding consumers' perceptions of Western‐branded jeans in a cultural‐specific marketplace is the primary focus. Design/methodology/approach – Combined methods included observation of shoppers wearing jeans in two malls in Shanghai and an anonymous survey. A total of 219 surveys were analyzed and consumer‐perceived jeans attributes or related concepts were tabulated. Findings – About one third of the observed shoppers were wearing jeans, which signified a relatively high popularity of jeans as casual wear in Shanghai. The design and fashion of jeans were deemed highly critical but were superseded by comfort and fit. Shanghai consumers distinguished brand origins only between the West and the East instead of by specific countries. Dissatisfaction with price and fit were identified. Research limitations/implications – Questions were designed to screen out respondents who had not purchased and had no desire to purchase western denim jeans brands. Limiting the sample in this way offered some control for behavioral patterns, but conclusions are limited. Practical implications – Content analysis of an open‐ended question about consumers' perceptions of western‐branded jeans helped discern attributes of jeans that consumers deemed most important. Marketers of western jeans can develop effective marketing strategies in tune with consumer preferences. Originality/value – This paper researched consumers' perceptions of western denim jeans, a type of world dress, in a booming but foreign market in western eyes. The open‐ended question solicited consumers' free responses, which in turn helped pin‐point attributes of jeans that Chinese consumers value the most.

Many methods have been developed to measure the body in an effort to capture its dimensions for clothing. Measuring the human body has been important in developing garments tofit the body, and systems have reflected technology, needs of the consumer, andfocus of the apparel industry. The U. S. apparel industry has developed many techniques to measure the body, including custom-fitted to the individual, mass-sized and produced, and now, mass-customized. This paper reviews and evaluates historic and current methods of capturing body measurements, which are presented as linear methods, multiple probe methods, and body form methods, that use one or more of the following elements: point, length, surface, shape, and volume.

PurposeThe objective was to provide research‐based insights from two groups of respondents as to their perceptions, preferences and desire to purchase Chinese – influenced Western dress.Design/methodology/approachTen images of models in designer clothing were selected that varied in degree of Chinese influence. College students from a US and a Chinese university, numbering 55 and 56 respectively, were asked to respond by ranking each image to discern their perceptions of ethnic influence and their preferences for and desire to purchase each of the ten images. Responses were compared and analyzed.FindingsA conclusion based upon analysis of responses was that degree of Chinese influence was less critical than the aesthetic character of the form itself. Some disagreement occurred in respondent's highest ranked preferences. Regarding preference and desire to purchase, US respondents ranked them similarly, while Chinese students ranked them differently.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was confined to College students with similar majors in the two countries. Limiting the sample in this way offered control in age and interest, but also limited application of results.Practical implicationsThis study addressed the perceptions, preferences and purchasing desires for dress with Chinese influence in a cross cultural perspective. Respondents in this study preferred effective design of the whole image and not simply a borrowing of disparate ethnic attributes.Originality/valueResults provide a managerial guide for ethnic fashion marketers.

A well-defined product development process assists the organization to determine its future direction, plan for rapid changes, create new product line profits, and plan for technology adoption and implementation (Thomas, 1993). The goal of this research was to propose an optimal product development process for knitwear companies by examining the process used by a major U.S. sweater company and comparing its process to established processes. Yin’s (1984) single case study and Patton’s (1990) qualitative research approaches were adapted for data collection. Various methods of collecting data were employed, including interviewing key personnel, making direct observations, and examining written documents. Preliminary suggestions for improving the product development process included extending market research to include end users, using pre-costing early in the process, integrating quality assurance, and using computer-aided-design and product development management software.

The purpose was to demonstrate a process to characterize a segment of a university collection from an object base using an existing aesthetic framework. A collection consisting of 160 evening dresses from the 1930s were analyzed for their repetitive and defining features and their dispersion throughout the decade. Dresses were selected as examples of the defining features and analyzed using the concept of structuring within DeLong’s (1998) framework of visual analysis. This process demonstrated how aesthetics could be applied to raise awareness of artifacts within the collection. The result was a characterization of this 1930s collection in terms of defining features that included structuring and the visual result of an integration of layout, surface, and light and shadow.

This study focuses on perceptions of registered brands sold in Shanghai. Brand identity has been studied in Western settings; this study expands understanding of brand identity from a Chinese perspective. Chinese shoppers in Shanghai shopping malls were asked to compare US and Chinese brands in a survey about their perceptions of product attributes, brand identification and store environment. In the analysis of data, US brands were evaluated more positively than Chinese on attributes of design innovation, workmanship, brand image, service, and display of products, while Chinese brands received more positive marks on fit and price satisfaction. Low brand loyalty among the Chinese shoppers meant that brand image and competition among brands are keen. To remain competitive, US companies which plan to increase their market in China need to pay attention to product quality and how brand identity is interpreted within Chinese culture.

This cross-cultural study illustrates how products selected for their basic similarities are distinguished in use by cultural context. Jeans, a product manufactured in both South Korea and the United States, were selected as the research stimuli. Subjects were regular wearers of jeans, 32 of whom were from the United States and 34 from Korea. All were females between the ages of 18 and 24, and students at one of two large metropolitan universities in their respective countries. Participants responded to four brands of jeans similar in appearance: two were U.S. brands (Levi’s and Gap) and two were Korean brands (GV2 and Bang Bang). Subjects’ perceptions of the products were explored for similarities and differences in criteria for wear and purchase of jeans. Country of manufacture mattered less than country of origin, appearance and other factors related to use in a cultural context. For both groups, color, fit, tactile qualities and price also were important criteria in wearing and purchasing jeans. Though respondents used similar criteria in this cross-cultural comparison, differences in weighting of those criteria yielded significantly different results.

Aesthetic expression of dress was examined by interviewing 15 midwestern university students. The objective was to understand the style development process and the motivations for clothing selection. The responses of participants selecting clothing from a variety of purchasing locations were analyzed. The purchasing sources examined were vintage or used clothing stores, a variety of sources used by cross-shoppers, and mainstream or mass market locations. In-depth interviews were analyzed for content. Aesthetic themes or categories emerged that helped to define differences: event dressing, imaging gender, variety clothes versus signature clothes, apparel meanings, process of ensemble, and customization of clothing purchases. These categories were analyzed and compared with those identified in the literature and with postmodern characteristics outlined by Evans and Thornton (1989). Understanding individual motivations in aesthetic expression and sourcing locations will aid in the study of fashion change.

This research examined the content and outcome of an educational intervention program designed to foster sun protective awareness and behaviors among young adolescents. Awareness of sun protection qualities, as well as preferences and stated intention to wear protective clothing, were measured based on young adolescents' responses to selected hat styles both before and after the educational interventions. The educational intervention was well received by this age group (ages 10-12), and a comparison of matched pre- and post-tests (397 girls and boys) indicated an increase in knowledge of sun protective factors in clothing. However, familiarity and past experience with hat styles helped to determine both preference and intent to wear. This finding points to the need to incorporate adolescents' preferences in design and modifications of hats for protection, and to take further measures to encourage protective behaviors in young adolescents' clothing selection. Implementing a standardized sun protection rating system for hats and other types of clothing like those used with sunscreen lotion would begin to familiarize people of all ages with the dangers of sun exposure and the benefits of wearing sun protective clothing.

Extending the life span of clothing through better quality and increased usability can result in fewer resources used in the overall clothing consumption system (Fletcher, 2008). If people experience emotional attachment toward clothing they own, they are likely to manage their clothing with more care, for an increased life span of their clothing (Schifferstein & Zwartkruis-Pelgrim, 2008). In this regard, it is worthwhile to explore people’s attachment to clothing from a sustainable perspective. The research explored how American and Korean consumers in their twenties report attachment to their clothing. The research gives perspective to apparel designers and companies who want to design clothing to be worn for an extended time.

Designers need to understand the breadth of strategies for developing more sustainable solutions (Shedroff, 2009). Design students’ concepts of sustainability are different depending on their cultural contexts and approaches to sustainability issues that universities have taken that vary across cultures. In this research, we examine how American and Korean design students perceive the importance of sustainability regarding their apparel as a user and professional and how they strategize sustainable practices. This cross-cultural comparison of American and Korean students perceptions of sustainability can provide valuable insight regarding how cultural factors shape and influence a group’s sustainable behavior and can help the instructor who wants to educate students as broadly as possible.

The development of new computer technologies designed to custom-fit apparel has created a need for quantification of apparel fit characteristics. Fit perception and preference data are needed to improve sizing for ready-to-wear and custom-fitted apparel. Tactile responses of subjects to the fit of pants were investigated using an adaptation of an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) sensory perception test. The test was designed to establish thresholds in apparel fit: that is, the smallest difference in garment dimensions that can be consistently perceived and identified. The test samples for the study were a set of 15 pants, which varied in size, made for each participant from precise computer-generated patterns. Four female experts in apparel fit, who comprised the subject panel, each recorded their responses to these pants compared to a control. Control pants were custom-fitted to each panel member; the remaining pants in each set varied from the control by 0.5 to 1.5 cm at a single location (waist, hips, or crotch length). When the pants were presented in a blind test, the panel perceived differences as small as 0.5 cm in pants waist size from the control. Differences of 1.5 cm were perceptible at the hip and crotch. The subject's level of acceptance of the fit variations in the pants was then judged using a preference test. This test revealed differences among individual subjects in the acceptability of fit variations in waist and crotch dimensions; judgements of the acceptability of hip variations were more consistent among the subjects. Judging from the results of this testing, it is concluded that threshold levels at which fit differences can be perceived can be established for different areas of the body, and that perceptible fit variations can be quite small. This testing also showed that individuals vary in their tolerance for fit variations at different locations on the body.

Current apparel production methods grounded in a tradition of master-apprentice training and intuition are being challenged by the introduction of Artificial Intelligence. Much of the expert knowledge needed to develop computer systems for the apparel industry is related to visual decisions made to create a garment. In this study, a sensory evaluation methodology was used to determine if visual perceptual differences existed between results of pattern grading methods using traditional and proportional techniques. An expert panel of eleven members evaluated visual effect of images graded across an entire size range. Three sets of images representing apparel on the body were selected to emphasize (1) horizontal proportion, (2) vertical proportion, and (3) proportion of details. Responses of panel members indicated neither traditional nor proportional grading maintained the visual effect referenced in the sample size across the entire size range. The goal of pattern grading needs to be redefined to account for the desired visual effect in a variety of size and body variations.

New developments using artificial intelligence and the computer can effect changes in the production of apparel and ultimate consumer satisfaction with apparel products. Much data specification is needed before apparel can be manufactured that quickly and efficiently takes into account the individual body of the consumer. Trial and error fitting methods will no longer be economically feasible with such customized production. Garment fit and ease preferences are explored in this research to determine feasibility of an individually fitted, computer generated pant. A customized pant was made for each of 38 female subjects using a computer-aided-design program that took into account the following factors: body size, configuration, alignment, proportions, and preferred ease amounts of the wearer. A level of prediction for ease was achieved with these pants and 27 of 28 of the final subjects rated their pant as satisfactory or very satisfactory following a seven hour wear test.