Mundane Fashion: Women, Clothes and Emotional Durability
type: CreativeWork
description: This research investigates emotional durability of clothing through the lens of a designer-maker practice. The current discourse on fashion futures urgently recognizes that a deeper understanding of the behavioural drivers behind long-term use of clothing is critical in order to move beyond symptom-based solutions to fashion and sustainability such as closed loop recycling and technological innovation. A considerable body of work exists on design strategies for emotional durability. However, empirical evidence that examines their relationship to users’ everyday experiences with clothing is missing. I set to remedy this gap through my own designer-maker practice that investigated women’s routine relationships with the clothes in their wardrobes. Focusing specifically on what matters in everyday use, I examine the possible applications of emotionally durable design in fashion design and making. This approach challenges the imperative of disposability in fashion and foregrounds instead a long-term value-creation enabled through the continuous use of familiar clothes. The thesis structure has three interrelated elements that outline the linear narrative of the research as well as the conceptual and methodological developments. The first part of the thesis outlines the global challenges in fashion production and consumption. The second part introduces and applies ethnographic methods to understanding the sensory wardrobe, and the third concluding stage includes the findings and practical application in the One Thing Collection. Conceptually, the thesis moves from comprehending the macro towards a practical application in the micro. The methodology employs a combination of practical explorations through designer-maker practice with in-depth wardrobe conversations. Adopting methods from narrative enquiry and sensory ethnography, ten women aged between 29-69 were interviewed in their homes. Rich imagery of clothes in use and extended excerpts of wardrobe conversations are e…
abstract: This research investigates emotional durability of clothing through the lens of a designer-maker practice. The current discourse on fashion futures urgently recognizes that a deeper understanding of the behavioural drivers behind long-term use of clothing is critical in order to move beyond symptom-based solutions to fashion and sustainability such as closed loop recycling and technological innovation. A considerable body of work exists on design strategies for emotional durability. However, empirical evidence that examines their relationship to users’ everyday experiences with clothing is missing. I set to remedy this gap through my own designer-maker practice that investigated women’s routine relationships with the clothes in their wardrobes. Focusing specifically on what matters in everyday use, I examine the possible applications of emotionally durable design in fashion design and making. This approach challenges the imperative of disposability in fashion and foregrounds instead a long-term value-creation enabled through the continuous use of familiar clothes. The thesis structure has three interrelated elements that outline the linear narrative of the research as well as the conceptual and methodological developments. The first part of the thesis outlines the global challenges in fashion production and consumption. The second part introduces and applies ethnographic methods to understanding the sensory wardrobe, and the third concluding stage includes the findings and practical application in the One Thing Collection. Conceptually, the thesis moves from comprehending the macro towards a practical application in the micro. The methodology employs a combination of practical explorations through designer-maker practice with in-depth wardrobe conversations. Adopting methods from narrative enquiry and sensory ethnography, ten women aged between 29-69 were interviewed in their homes. Rich imagery of clothes in use and extended excerpts of wardrobe conversations are e…
author: Burcikova, Mila
language: en
keywords: Fashion Design (Womenswear), Design studies, Dressmaking
identifier: Burcikova, Mila <https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/view/creators/Burcikova=3AMila=3A=3A.html> (2019) Mundane Fashion: Women, Clothes and Emotional Durability. PhD thesis, School of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Huddersfield.
date published: 2019-09
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:00:43Z
provider: University of the Arts London
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of the Arts London