User Empowerment

As natural resources are becoming scarcer, the call for alternative business models and consumptions pattern becomes more urgent. This affects the traditional fashion system in a way where isolated solutions cannot solve the environmental challenges alone. In this paper, I discuss the potential of involving user insights in the design process as a strategy for democratisation of fashion. The discussion is raised on the basis of experimental and practice-based research project of how designers can engage with users to gain insights on material and aesthetic experience in relation to use, and further employ these insights as inspiration for design development. This perspective suggests to consider the use phase as a part of the design process with an aim to encourage for user empowerment as part of the sustainable transition that the fashion industry faces. The explorations presented in this paper, focusses on the role of the textile designer in the progression towards another fashion system.