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Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821

6th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2015) and the
Affiliated Conferences, AHFE 2015

Customized Wardrobe: Clothing according to user

Carla Morais*, Gianni Montagna
Ciaud, Faculdade de Arquitectura, Rua Sá Nogueira, Polo Universitário, Alto da Ajuda, 1349-055 Lisboa, Portugal

Abstract

Ecological and ethical innovations, as well as new methodologies that meet the real needs of consumers or users are very
important for fashion become more sustainable. However, the individual is, in the most cases, the main element for that.
Generally the consumer throws away his garment not because it has “low quality” or “it is out of fashion” but rather having a
failed relationship between him and the product. This proposal work is an idea which plans to reduce the fashion product
obsolescence, valuing and maximizing each individual's wardrobe and showing how human factors can be helpful in all process.
It will make stronger the effective relationship between consumers and garment because they will be able to construct and
deconstruct their clothing, according to their personal taste as well as to their physical type or their genetically determined entity,
their somatotype. Inserting modular upgrades in different pieces of clothing it will allow a constant wardrobe renewal, providing
the exchange of deteriorated components, colors, materials, shapes and silhouettes. Many parts can disassemble or not, like a
puzzle, and they will depend on the occasion in which they are going to be used, or even from the physical type of who will wear
them. Therefore, for their achievement, it will be need performing practical tests in a piece of garment to verify the way of
sewing it and to study its usability in different physical types.

© 2015
© 2015 The
The Authors.
Authors.Published
PublishedbybyElsevier B.V.
Elsevier This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
B.V.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of AHFE Conference.
Peer-review under responsibility of AHFE Conference

Keywords: Consumer; Costumizing clothes; Somatotypes in fashion; Physical types; Sustainable fashion design

1. Introduction

Fast fashion clothing has been characterized as a chronic and ineffectual model system causing "over-
consumption" and getting a rubbish generator. Social, environmental and economic impacts are taking place in the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected]

2351-9789 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of AHFE Conference
doi:10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.833
 Carla Morais and Gianni Montagna / Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821 5815

supply chain because many items of clothing are created will not be purchased or if there will happen they will also
easily be discarded.
The systematic and successive changes in Fashion process that are adopted at different times and different speeds,
let designers be on the front side to accept all changes. At the same time they must create products, in the opposite
direction, with ethically conscious pathways and stimulate the good sense for future consumers and users.
According to some surveys which were made in 2011, the active female people had the habit of buying at least 1
or 2 pieces of clothing from the latest trend. Their most important requirements to buy clothing were “personal taste”
and “necessity, being visible a growing concern about the rationalization of garments they didn’t need effectively 1.
These results fit to the target segmentation theory that has been analyzed with personality variables and lifestyles
preferences, instead of demographics values 2. However, fashion retail still offers a great amount of unwanted
products instead of improving their services, especially in personalized products sales, as customized ones.
Introduce Human factors, either in human or interaction area, to improve empathy between product and a
potential consumer is a sustainable way to minimize some impacts are realised in the life cycle of fashion products.
There are points in the lifecycle where interventions can be made to become the wearer’ wardrobe more
sustainable. “Designer” will make decisions to have better consequences either in life cycle or in user and the
“consumer” will have best planned end-of-life options, instead of disposal items easily (Fig.1a and1b).

a b

Fig. 1. (a) The Life Cycle of Fashion and principal points where interventions can be made: “Designer” and “Consumer/User”; (b) The Wardrobe
changes with better sustainable solutions between designer and consumer/wearer collaboration.

On the other hand, clothing is usually made for stereotype bodies and neither fit well for each individual physical
type nor get better his appearance. So, a collaboration work will become both designer and wearer more engaged
with needs of each other. Designer creates less tiring products and the user/wearer will be able to participate in the
construction of his customized clothing.

2. Objectives

Remake and rethink the way to project, produce and consume clothing has been research and analyzed among
academics and professionals. The more personalized goods designer will be creating, more long-lasting items will
have used. So, this proposal is a rethought work will show how essential features of human body can be useful in
creating a more sustainable wardrobe.
Optimizing the wardrobe lifetime does not guarantee a reduction of resources but it can promote other type of
user behavior, let him think about the clothing use and its functionality or even as the necessity to acquire it. The
consumer knows that not all types of garments are used in the same way because some of them have longer lifespan
than others but instead of discarding some items he probably may keep in and reuse them later.
Moreover, this proposal will prove that is possible to create a sustainable and transformable wardrobe in
accordance with consumer’s physical type, changing his image and hiding esthetic aspects less beautiful too.
5816 Carla Morais and Gianni Montagna / Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821

3. State of the art

3.1. Customizing garments

Many requirements must be considered so that the garment can be dynamic, transformable and adaptable in
different occasions and with different users.
The customizing process involves the mass production of individually personalized goods and services. The
choice of the products is often selected by the client during a range of design proposals were presented in a digital
platform 3.
This E-System Design is more advantageous to producer than the consumer and doesn´t seem to work well in
Fashion products because the individual, special the one with greater involvement in fashion, neither touch the
products and feel textures nor put them on before the purchase.
Therefore, offering customized products in own real sales points would be an option to solve the gap of consumer
dissatisfaction from the purchase online or from other local e-commerce system. The process of that customized
clothing production would be different from the conventional one, once the garment need to be dressed up and
changed at that moment, according to the taste (and physical appearance) of the costumer. The strategies to make it
possible can be multifunctional techniques as modular concept and do-it-yourself, contributing for components
changing.

3.2. Human factors

According some researchers, human factors are characterized into three areas, “Human/ Individual”, “Interaction/
Interface” and “Management/ Organization [4]. This proposal focuses firstly on the first area, especially in human
anatomy; once the wardrobe will be created for body types of different users. The Interaction and the Management
areas will only have been showed in future evaluation when wearers have dressed up their clothes and interact with
them in the retail shop.
Therefore, since William H. Sheldon [5], introduced the concept of somatotypes, nutritionists, exercise
physiologists and even doctors started to use that for helping themselves in projects planning. Heath-Carter6
developed evaluation methods to quantify the localized fat along the body of each individual to identify him better.
But both researchers classify people in three physical types: Ectomorphic, Mesomorphic and Endomorphic (Fig.2).
Ectomorphic people are tall and thin, with little body fat and little muscle too. They generally have difficulty in
gaining weight and muscle.
Mesomorphic people are more athletic, have a good bone formation and an upright posture; they gain and lose
weight without much effort.
Endomorphic people have rounded shapes and a lot of body fat; they also have muscles but they may increase
weight easily.

a b

Fig. 2. (a) Body silhouettes (Adapted from Stunkard et al., 1983); (b) Three basic types of human body. Adapted from Sheldon, [5].
 Carla Morais and Gianni Montagna / Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821 5817

Many of us have features of two or even three somatotypes. The most widely known are Ecto-endomorph
combination and Endo-Ectomorph combination. The ecto-endomorph combination is characterized in "Pear shape",
with a slender upper body and a large fat storage in the hips and thighs. And the Endo-Ectomorph is characterized in
"Apple shape", with a fat upper body and slender shape at the bottom.
Recent studies found that even in active people, there is a prevalence of the endomorph physical among in
females, especially since the age of 29 7 which means the physical body can change over the women’s life-course.
In addition to that there are other studies connected to Anthropometry and Fashion Consulting that presents other
peculiarities regarding human figure. The designer and writer Pezzolo [8] adds more feminine body disproportions
(Fig. 3) characterizing them as: fat; bulky hips and slender trunk; big chest; short breast; short trunk long trunk;
droopy shoulders; prominent belly; lack of buttocks; short legs; thin legs; big legs; low; high.

Fig. 3. Set of illustrations produced by Anita Ljung for females bodies’ characteristics, according to Dinah Pezzolo [8].

Otherwise to the physical bodies’ type theory we also consider the measures of the human body, once they are
proportional among different parts. Vitruvius (~ 70-25 BC) [9] have already had stated that the body's harmony was
guaranteed by its inclusion into a perfect circle or square and currently many studied systems of measures have other
similarities. Watching the standard measures table of the female figure and its proportions lead us to identify that
(Fig.4).

a b

Fig. 4. (a) European measures of standard female body (retrieved in http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/Beretta_Clothing_Chart.php); (b) Body
measures in cm. (retrieved in http://www.primera-sports.com/sizing-guides/sizing.aspx)

The standardized ergonomics measures for female body ranges from 32 to 52 in European numbers as exposed in
figure 4 and checking the table we can see the similarity between some dimensions such as the breast measure
and hip measure or the arm length and inseam measure.

3.3. An essential wardrobe

Some writers with experience in fashion consulting and teaching as Tim Gunn [10], Rita Wilson [11] or Mary
Lou Andre [12] value special items of clothing. They are fundamental pieces (the “basics” that general people like
wearing) and here are characterized by the "black dress", the "polo shirt", the "t-shirt", the "twin-set", the "blazer",
5818 Carla Morais and Gianni Montagna / Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821

the "jeans", the "trench-coat", "black pants", a "white shirt", the "skirt", the "day dress", the "training suit", and
others like a "sweater", a "top", the "cardigan", the "jacket", a "shorts", a "leggings", a "cape", a "pullover", etc
(Fig.5a).
According to Baldini [13] some of these clothes can be used in everyday life or in sleepwear or party clothes. Its
ability to take on different meanings with minimal changes depends on the design tool during its conception. Thus,
designer can rebuild the basic concept of pattern making with many elements of creation such as the "silhouette"
(Fig.5b), "proportion and line", "function", "details", "color", "materials", "finishes", etc [14].

a b

Fig. 5. (a) The garments which would be important in a wardrobe; (b) Silhouettes can change visual perceptions of bodies.

4. Proposal: customized wardrobe

Considering the review we may ask: If there are several experts who have based on the human body’s
morphology to improve the performance of each individual why not working from his own wardrobe to improve its
appearance too?
Thinking about a sustainable way to design fashion and to create a multifunctional wardrobe according to the
body’s user let us rethink about the way and why people use their clothes. In addition to thinking about the human
body we have to go back for its buying criteria data. According to users, the majority of individuals do not
considered innovative when they choose clothing. They prefer using formal clothing for professional life and
varying in accessories arrangements15 or even wearing basic clothing during the week [16].
Thus, instead of planning a great amount of clothing that would be quickly used and discarded, we propose an
idea to maximize the actual basic wardrobe at the same time people would satisfy their needs. To make that it must
be planned pieces of garment able to be transformed in multifunctional pieces.
Therefore the metabolism of the future wardrobe will change by the sustainable wearer that will have more
personalized products and will not disposal items easily, keeping transformable garments for much longer than
conventional ones.

4.1. Garment customization methodologies

Multi-functionality or Do-it-yourself are both methodologies available to be included in the real garment
customization. The first because it works on transformable garment allowing parts exchange and the other one
because it promotes a good relationship between product and costumer.
The multifunctional garment arose to fill some wanted requirements in the new lifestyles and “many designers of
super modern clothing have adopted a modular system of dressing in an attempt to simplify the complexities and
unify the discontinuities of modern urban life”17. Quinn attests that the traditional wardrobe does not follow the
changing of social and cultural needs, defending a clothing design based on changeable characteristics 18. He even
differentiates three types of transformable clothing: 1) the clothing which is only changed by its surface (appearance
or texture); 2) The garments that takes two or more design possibilities (reversible pieces); and 3) garment that can
be converted in multiple designs including objects (a suitcase and a hat at the same time for example).
 Carla Morais and Gianni Montagna / Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821 5819

In DIY (Do-it-yourself) design process plays a social role where the costumer becomes a designer too. DIY has
evolved since the products and services increased substantially, solving economically many families lives. In
fashion it becomes known with Burda magazine being useful for household ladies that started themselves to be the
family dressmakers [19].
Ellen Lupton [20] wrote that DIY has developed due to three major factors: 1) The increase of people who have
achieved high levels of awareness in Design; 2) the access to publishing tools Do-it-yourself; and 3) the desire to
majority of consumers want to be less dependent of brands and preferring create their own purposes.
The concept of "Design for user participation" has also to be a point of interest for traders and retailers, as a way
to get customer loyalty21. According to Caldwell and Workman’s research [22] fabric retailers had believed their
consumers had been interested in news technologies for custom patterns making, as the computer-aided design
(CAD), "body scanning" and intelligent systems. Some examples are "MeJeans" which offers customization of
Jeans, the "Nike-ID" for the production of tennis, or even “taggerbags” to build our own bags but all of them works
on digital platform.

5. Methodology

In the new Design projects the subject of study has no longer just the aim product aesthetics but the function and
customer satisfaction [23]. In fashion design process there are some elements really important as the silhouette or
the proportion of a garment, which their combination can create infinite and diverse possibilities. However not all of
them are appropriated to all kind of bodies.
In addition to that, people buy items to have a good appearance and look elegantly [24] so we start to analyze the
three somatotypes (ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph bodies) to verify the silhouette which fit better for each
one (Fig.6a). After that we will consider the proportion and line of basic garments to validate their transformable
potential in practical working.

a b

Fig. 6. (a) A Square silhouette can change visual perceptions of bodies through modular systems; (b) Examples of Cutting silhouettes.

Connecting the concepts of clothing building to the user’s physical shape it is possible to help the wearer to get
better his own visual perception at the same time each garment is able to become longer or wider or even be
different in other piece, combining with other elements from other pieces (Fig.6b).

5.1. Practical working

Transformable garment is usually made by traditional pattern making but it can also be produced through three-
dimensional pattern making (drapping). In the traditional concept which clothing change removable material, the
separation of pieces or layers are essentially done by zippers, ribbons or buttons but there are clothes that doesn’t
need to take off pieces. They can be produced in extensible material to cover different bodies and take more than
one design possibility having several meanings in the same product (as a skirt and dress at the same time). In both
5820 Carla Morais and Gianni Montagna / Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821

processes there is a wide range of possibilities to dress up and the wearer can choose a combination that he/she want
or need.
Having the fundamental concern to rationalize clothing in wardrobe (through the variety of connections and
disconnections of parts), the applied methodology will be based on sketches and prototypes from blocks of basic
garments (fig.7a) in order to create well-made multifunctional clothes (fig.7b).
The practical working requires experimentation in each block (in this case the European number of 36) to know
how cutting lines of each item is going individually to join with another one.

a b

Fig. 7. (a) Samples of skirt block, pants block, bodice block and sleeve block; (b) A skirt and short sample results from practical working. By
removable vertical panels it is possible to change texture, color, function and silhouette.

Considering the affinity of measures were exposed before (in Fig. 4) as length knee and inseam measure or arm
length and inseam measure it is possible to build different functions in one piece (Fig.8a) or build different pieces of
garment with a same component (Fig.8b)[25].
a b

Figure 8: (a) Practical working playing with length knee and inseam measure; (b) Practical working playing with arm length and inseam measure.

These samples are the first garments will be transformed. Different types of finishes are testifying to allow
wearer change colors, patterns, shapes, lengths and heights.
 Carla Morais and Gianni Montagna / Procedia Manufacturing 3 (2015) 5814 – 5821 5821

6. Conclusions

Being interesting the measures affinity between the human body and the construction of transformable clothing
since there is no scientific research in this area, we do not consider this work finished. Designing for changing
shapes let designer acquire knowledge of radically clothing construction at the same time he has to recognize the
creative abilities and limits (physical and psychological) of the end wearer.
According to the review, the possibility of constructing different silhouettes or textures wherein each garment is
able to become longer or wider or even be different in other piece classifies this type of clothing as a timeless design
and much more sustainable than conventional clothing. It answers to the tiredness of basic product also featuring
great versatility of styles and ways to wear. In addition to that it shows the importance of repair services in stores to
let consumers replace only worn components instead of buying a whole piece of garment.
Although the purpose of this work is to create a complete wardrobe, which components will accommodate the
waist, height, line of the wearer we only testified a sample (the basic skirt that change for shorts through removable
vertical panels by zippers). We realize that may cause interest in future wearer by the ability to be changed
according to his taste and to his physical body but technically is a hard approach which doesn’t work for all types of
fabrics or embellishments. One of the greatest difficulties of this kind of clothing is not how it transforms but rather
how the qualitative details are made for a good performance.

Acknowledgements

We thank to CIAUD- Center of Research in Architecture and Design by invitation and services at this work
presentation.

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