Kritika Singh & Resham Beri

Wardrobe In-charge (WIC)

This thesis outlines the research, development, testing and results of a prototype, “Wardrobe In-charge, also known as WIC”, which explores the influence of social media on consumer’s buying habits. The basis of the prototype is that social media creates undesirable behavior among consumers such as poor self-image and the Fear of Missing Out among others, which leads to mindless overconsumption. Influenced by social media, peer pressure, and wearing something new every day to look good, people have been consuming fast fashion mindlessly and incessantly, most times unaware of the environmental implications of their choices. Alongside many other issues such as unethical working conditions and child labor, fast fashion is made from poor quality materials that are not recycled easily.

With Wardrobe In-charge, users are given an opportunity to reflect on their buying habits as influenced by social media. It also has a conversational style that encourages them to rethink their buying habits and help users make sustainable choices with features such as mix and match and a sustainability meter. To identify and validate the significance of Wardrobe In-charge, we conducted a set of qualitative interviews. Through these conversations, we understood more about our user’s relationship with social media, it’s influence on their shopping habits and their awareness levels around fast fashion and its implications on the environment. Once we gathered these insights, we were able to decide what features are useful for a product like WIC.

The growth of social media has profoundly impacted how individuals perceive themselves and their surroundings. Fuelled with images, videos, appearances and consumerism, a culture of fast fashion consumption has been on a rise. People, more than ever now, care about how they look. The unprecedented rate at which the purchase of fast fashion has grown is a point of contention not only for individuals, but the environment. Through this project, we aimed to address these issues by developing an interactive system in the form of a wardrobe and app called Wardrobe In-charge or WIC. This system is designed to prompt users to critically assess how social media influences their fashion choices, encouraging more sustainable behaviours in the process.