Adaptive Clothing Designs for the Individuals with Special Needs

Na, Hyun-Shin

doi:10.5850/jksct.2007.31.6.933

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…While many studies have investigated the importance of adaptive clothing (Banks, 2001;McBee-Black & Ha-Brookshire, 2020;Na, 2007) and analysed the clothing design process (Chae, 2020;Jung et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2014) through survey and interview methods, this is the first time a text-mining approach was applied to understand the themes and sentiments in online adaptive clothing Many strategies and technologies could be adopted to address the concern of sizing, material, sense of style, selection of colour, etc.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While many studies have investigated the importance of adaptive clothing (Banks, 2001; McBee‐Black & Ha‐Brookshire, 2020; Na, 2007) and analysed the clothing design process (Chae, 2020; Jung et al, 2010; Wang et al, 2014) through survey and interview methods, this is the first time a text‐mining approach was applied to understand the themes and sentiments in online adaptive clothing shopping. With access to and analysis of a large number of customer reviews from various web sites, this study sought to understand the shopping behaviour of online adaptive clothing customers with respect to the purchase of products/services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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It is about inclusion! Mining online reviews to understand the needs of adaptive clothing customers

Zhao

Srinivas

2023

Int J Consumer Studies

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The adaptive clothing market, which focuses on the inclusive design of clothing and footwear for people with varying degrees of disability, has grown substantially in recent years. However, few scholars have sought to understand the perspectives of online adaptive clothing consumers. This study employed topic modelling, sentiment analysis and collocation analysis to discover common themes and insights emerging from online customer reviews, scraped from a third-party review platform and three retailing web sites. We utilized customer value and functional, expressive and aesthetic theories to group the results from topic modelling into key themes. Clothing function is the most frequently discussed theme in online customer reviews, followed by customer service and clothing aesthetics. Collocation analysis revealed the cause underlying each theme vis-à-vis customer satisfaction (e.g., fit and material quality) and dissatisfaction (e.g., sewing defects and lost shipment). The findings contribute to understanding the clothing needs and wants of people living with disabilities. It also provides practical guidelines on product offerings and online service optimization for adaptive clothing retailers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It is about inclusion! Mining online reviews to understand the needs of adaptive clothing customers

Zhao

Srinivas

2023

Int J Consumer Studies

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“…Currently, researchers and fashion designers are striving to bring adaptive designs to the public, proposing solutions for common needs but could benefit users under various conditions. Existing studies about adaptive solutions for minority consumer groups have focused on the design and development of apparel (Esmail et al , 2020; Na, 2007) or on consumer needs. For example, Tan and Jun (2018), in discussing designs using universal materials, described the variety of garments available to provide functional and physical assistance using wearable technology, conductive fibres, 3D printing technology or interactive computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) process.…”

Section: Introduction/backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adaptive clothing is for people with disabilities, those who are aging and those who lack the capability to execute normal dressing movements or need special functions that enable them to carry out other activities (Na, 2007). Currently, researchers and fashion designers are striving to bring adaptive designs to the public, proposing solutions for common needs but could benefit users under various conditions.…”

Section: Introduction/backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

What are the factors that influence the adaptive market? An empirical study with wheelchair users in Hong Kong

Feng

Hui

2022

JFMM

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PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the determinant factors of the adaptive clothing market for disabled customers and to identify the influential elements in the fashion industry, with the aim of establishing the influential factors that drive the adaptive apparel business in the local market. The study developed a path model of relationships incorporating the disabled consumer background, consumer purchase intention and demand and elements of the fashion industry. This model can be used as a reference for fashion practitioners.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach was adopted for this empirical study. A survey was designed to investigate the connections between the consumer-related and industry-related variables. A set of measurements was developed and validated for the survey. The data were collected from a sample of 175 local wheelchair users, with a response rate of approximately 6.6 per cent. The data were analysed using SmartPLS, and structural equation model analysis was applied to identify the relationships between the variables.FindingsThe results of this study demonstrated that consumer purchase intention for adaptive apparel was affected closely by environmental factors, and consumer demand was significantly related to industry aspects including the product complexity and the business operations along with all elements of the industrial practice. The findings also revealed that the disability level was related to the users' purchase intentions, but the financial capability of the disabled consumers did not affect the intention to purchase adaptive clothes products. These results could suggest that economic issues are not the consumer's prior concern when purchasing apparel, but rather the disability condition. Those who demand adaptive apparel require advanced performance levels of product design, technology application and service.Originality/valueThe study originated from the situation that the Hong Kong fashion market lacks an adaptive market specifically for the minority group of disabled consumers. Why such a niche market has not been developed is unclear to the practitioners. It is necessary to investigate from both consumer-related and industry-related factors. Specifically, the research explored the consumer background and industry elements to identify the factors that influence disabled consumers to purchase apparel, in order to inform fashion practitioners who are interested in the niche market of disabled consumers in Hong Kong. It is anticipated that the determinants of adaptive market development can be extended to wider areas of the Chinese or other Asian markets.

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“…Accordingly, satisfying the need of people for a sense of belongingness or inclusion in society is very important. Hence, adaptive clothing should be fashionable, so that it would look very much like the trendy clothing available widely in the fashion world (Na, 2007). Accordingly, adaptive wear should provide added comfort to the wearer, cope with different perspiration levels, be anti-bacterial and odorless, and resistant to hot and cold environments (Bragança et al, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive clothing features to support daily exercising needs of muscular dystrophy victimized women in Sri Lanka

Seram

Mataraarachchi

Jayaneththi

2021

RJTA

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Purpose Exercising is a key approach adopted by muscular dystrophy patients to halt the weakening of muscles as it can eventually lead to serious immobility issues. Though it is essential to exercise on a daily basis for healthy living, there is no mention of any research effort in the current literature regarding the development of an apparel product for these mobility-affected patients that might assist them both in meeting their exercising needs and providing them some comfort in their daily living. Thus, this paper aims to focus on identifying the specific needs of muscular dystrophy victims and proposing special adaptive clothing solutions to support their daily exercise and mobility needs. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objectives of this study, attention was focused on the muscular dystrophy afflicted women in Sri Lanka. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the female victims of muscular dystrophy and their lifestyles were observed carefully; additional data were gathered by holding semi-structured interviews with their physiotherapists. Further, interviews were conducted with both garment technologists and fabric technologists too. Data gathered through these methods were analyzed qualitatively using the principles of thematic analysis and then aggregate conclusions were drawn. Findings It was observed that the patients were engaged in special activities such as exercising three times a day besides following their normal day-to-day activities to maintain and develop muscle strength. It soon became evident that these women found it difficult to perform their daily exercise routines with their regular clothing and were looking for custom made clothing they could wear all day long in comfort and avoid the problems that arose while exercising. The study specifies the requirements that must be met to satisfy both generic and specific needs. Considering all these aspects some adaptive clothing solutions were proposed to support daily exercising activity with respect to comfort, convenience, health and safety, as well as socio-cultural and psychological needs. Originality/value The area of fusing generic and specific features to support the daily exercising needs of muscular dystrophy victims is an untouched field of experimentation and being a need of the disabled, the present study marks a milestone on the way to a novel area of apparel design, besides exploring a new field of research.

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Adaptive Clothing Designs for the Individuals with Special Needs

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

It is about inclusion! Mining online reviews to understand the needs of adaptive clothing customers

It is about inclusion! Mining online reviews to understand the needs of adaptive clothing customers

What are the factors that influence the adaptive market? An empirical study with wheelchair users in Hong Kong

Adaptive clothing features to support daily exercising needs of muscular dystrophy victimized women in Sri Lanka

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