Thesis Book

Title: ONCEWEAR CULTURE

Wear-once clothes, clothes consumption behavior, and social media influence of outfit decision.

Maneepisut Guaisomboon 60120500627 (+66)972980681 maneepisut.comdes@mail.kmutt.ac.th

B.F.A Bachelor of Fine Art
King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi School of Architecture and Design Communication Design
Advisor Ng Hak Hong

2021

Abstract: Wear-once clothing has been ever more common and rampant in a social-media charged environment. Social media influence wear-once culture happens among the user. Wearing an outfit more than once becomes a fashion crime. One or two wears are considered to be old. This culture has become evident that such phenomena have caused much wastage and a toxic habit among the people today. According to research by environmental charity Metro UK, 41% of all 18–25-year-olds feel the pressure to wear a different outfit every time they go out. One in six young people even says that they don’t feel they can wear an outfit again once it’s been seen on social media. The purpose of this project is to propose more awareness of timeless outfits to respond to such phenomena and give some solution to help maximize clothing in wardrobe to be suit and worth.

Keywords: Wear-once clothes, Clothes consumption behavior, Social media influential

PROJECTION DETAILS

Introductory background: Clothes are one of four basic needs that people create to help cover the body in the part that sensitive and delicate from the dirtiness and the irritant surface. Fashion has a revolution throughout the era. Apparel influences many factors in different periods of time. Since modernism, clothes focus on aesthetics and tradition. Women have to wear proper clothes to follow the social norm and show their social status. But after world war II, From the effect of that situation influenced women to wear pants and jumpsuits because they have to do more active work.

Nowadays, we living in the post-truth era that social media come and take a big role in people’s life. Everything around us changes action and role in unexpected ways. Also in the fashion industry, almost all of the clothes we see in the physical world turn into a set of data which is pictures on the internet. Not just to wear in the daily life but also in the social media site as a big counting. This situation influence wear-once culture happens. Most of the time people consider clothes to be ‘old’ after just one or two wear after existing on social media. I, as a part of a social media active group, would propose more awareness of timeless outfits to respond to such phenomena.

Research question: How does the apparel industry minister people to change their consumption behavior to be wastage by the influence of social media?

Aim/Objective of the project: This project aims to explore how to maximize clothes-consuming behavior through the social media era.

INTELLECTUAL FRAMEWORK

Clothes are one of four basic needs that people create to help cover the body in the part that sensitive and delicate from the dirtiness and the irritant surface.

Fashion has a revolution throughout the era. Apparel influences many factors in different periods of time.

Since modernism, clothes focus on a tradition. Women have to wear proper clothes to follow the social norm and show their social status. But after world war II, From the effect of that situation influenced women from wearing pants and jumpsuits because they have to do more active work.

Nowadays, we living in the post-truth era that social media come and take a big role in people’s life. Not just particular facts but entire histories might be faked. Propaganda is the normal tool for every people who want to make a belief. Everything around us changes action and role in unexpected ways.

Fashion become to big picture of how people represent themselves through style and outlook on social media platforms.

We all have different and sensitive reasons for wearing clothes. In the part of social media that we represent ourselves through some of the pictures with the sort sentence of caption and hashtag. We choose some part of our personality that we want to show to others in cyberspace.

Nowadays, one thing that can help us to tell about ourselves is the personal account on social media. When we meet new people and want to keep in touch and know more about them you have to follow their social media accounts.

We built our selfe-image and keep update on the social media.

According to research by environmental charity Hubbub, 41% of all 18–25-year-olds feel the pressure to wear a different outfit every time they go out. One in six young people even says that they don’t feel they can wear an outfit again once it’s been seen on social media. It becomes to Wear-once clothing culture. Most of the clothes in the wardrobe are using just 1 or 2 times and do not pick them up ever. Research carried out for Barnardo’s earlier this year revealed that Brits were set to spend £2.7 billion on 50 million outfits that would be worn only once. It’s become a normal habit that happens among the usage. This culture has been ever more common and rampant in a social-media charged environment and counting.

METHODOLOGY

My project started with an exploration into the fashion industry in the social media era. Wear-once clothing becomes ever more common and rampant in a social-media charged environment. I start with the question ‘How does the apparel industry minister people to change their consumption behavior to be wastage by the influence of social media?’ From the question, I look back to my closet to be a starter point. I collect my wear once clothes to list out the reason that I didn’t want to wear them again and deconstruct to see and feel the construction of them. Also, try with raw materials, hand sewing, sewing machine and some of the techniques of making clothes. From my personal experiences, I found that all of the clothes that I’m not wearing again because for 4 main reasons. First, the cutting and shape of the clothes do not suit my body type. Second, colors do not go along with my skin tone. Sometimes the color on the clothes is nice but do not look good with my skin tone. The third reason is the style of the cloth is trendy but not timeless. That trendy clothes are in trend on short of the time and then going to be out-trend. And the last reason is about social media impact. Can not be denied that I’m the one that gives precedence to my self-image on social media and doesn't want to show the same outfit when I already post on my social media feed more than twice. I want to show the new and fresh trends on my feed to make my followers like and follow my upcoming trends.

Not only data from my side but also research and collect data from others. I make a poll and Q&A sheet to ask random people on social media to answer about wear-once culture. The answer can separate into big three reasons including easy come easy go trends, don’t want to wear an outfit again once it’s been seen on social media, and the last reason is not suited to them.

From all of the experiments and data collected, I try to research the way to the middle solution of wear-once culture. I found one sentence that gives me an idea to make this project which is ‘Having more conscious consuming habits it’s not only good for the planet’s resources and people behind our clothes but also makes your life easy and enriches your style.’ I also found out there are many charts and diagrams that can suggest ways to maximize clothing and stretch its usage. I am amazed that why are not promoted among the trendsetters. So, I decided to create a template of a Personal clothes planner for everyone. It’s a similar idea of a year planner that we use to plan the whole year but this one is to help manage clothes in your closet, help plan about the outfits, and also help you to understand the perfect outfit for yourself.

CLOTHES PLANNER DETAIL AND FUNCTIONS

A clothes planner is an e-writable form with a hyperlinks function. I gather data to help the user maximize clothes in their closet and understand themself through a planner. The form will project in a PDF file and when the user downloads and make it writable with hyperlinks in the GoodNotes application. This planner breakdown into 10 contents including Year trends, Colors Palate, Basic Pieces, Key Pieces, Accent Pieces, Fitting Room, Random pick, Wishlist, Tools, and Dump list.

1. Year Trends: The collecting space and memo for the user to put their interest in style and trend they found. Objective: To help them gather inspiration and to be a reference for mix & match their clothes.
2. Colors Palate: Space and template for the user to set their clothes color chart. Inside the template will include seasonal colors analysis, favorite colors, Color trends, and matching colors with color code.
3. Basic Pieces: To list down basic pieces in the wardrobe, colors, and style by using PNG genetic. The basic piece is the piece easy to match with others. It will be a basic style with monotone or earth-tone colors. Moving forward, this set can be starter pieces to create the look.
4. Key Piece: To list down key pieces in wardrobe, colors, and style by using PNG genetic. The key piece is the personal style pieces that can be paired basics.
5. Accent Pieces: To list down key pieces in wardrobe, colors, and style by using PNG genetic. The accent pieces are statement pieces that you don’t use too often but give your look the final touch.
6. Fitting Room: Space to create and mix & match clothes in your wardrobe. To be an idea to clothing in daily. Users can play around with the clothes list from basic pieces, key pieces, and accent pieces page with colors palate and the item they have. The template will be space for testing and can copy the final look as a collecting styling.
7. Random Pick: For the day that you lazy to pick out the outfit. And here is the answer. Use by getting the final look from the fitting room that you already collect in the random wheel.
8. Wishlist: Everyone always has a wishlist item that we want to buy for the new look. Here is the table for the user to collect them and compare what the most item must have with link to shop.
9. Tools: Tools panel for the plug-in website for helping the user to complete clothes planer and also add-on tips including PNG maker https://www.remove.bg/, Colors analytic https://coolors.co/, and Guide book.
10. Dump List: The piece that you plan to not wearing anymore with the list down of places to donate.

DISCOVERIES

Overall reflection: At the beginning of this project, I realized the effect of wear-once culture from the influence of social media. There is a lot of factors to make this problem happens. When I research and experiment on the topic, I found a lot of ways that people try to solve this problem. But one way that I think it effective to ourselves and can make it now is starting with our daily habits. I learned how to find proper research from the right resources and the production process from the beginning of problems which is producing clothes and develop to clothes planner making technology. The mixing of old tools and a new tool was very challenging since and new to me.

Using the digital tool: As we know technology is the normal and convenient tool in this period time. To answer and solve the questing is to create something that easy for people to use. So I learn to create the digital template and hyperlinks system for the clothes planner. Also lean and try on the system to be most functional and useful to the user.

BIBLIOGRAPHY